Love Someone
by squishy-asshat
Summary: AU! Mercedes is living in NYC, focusing on nothing but her music and herself. Sam just moved to NYC looking for something new. Maybe coincidence will bring them together and show them that when love pops up you really can't fight it. (weird summery but I'm really bad at these. currently there is no angst but there might be in the future)
1. Strangers on the Street

**Hellllooooo! So I haven't written anything in a while and I had an itch that needed to be scratched! I've never written a Glee fanfic but I love Sam and Mercedes so much that I thought I'd give it a try! I also really love AUs so I thought I'd try that as well. This was just a random idea brought on by a song I really like, so bear with me. I have no idea where it's going at the moment so let's find out together! ;p To any of my friends that like my criminal minds fics, I might try to write one of those soon so don't fret! ok. that's it. I hope you like it! :)**

I own nothing. whomp whomp.

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Mercedes Jones was running late. As a woman that prides herself on being punctual, early even, this was really grinding her gears. Her morning, so far, had been a total disaster. First she slept through her alarm for twenty minutes, then when she got in the shower and the cold water literally took her breath away she remembered that the hot water in her apartment building wouldn't be working until tomorrow at some point, but she wasn't counting on that actually happening because her landlord sucked at getting things done on time, and finally when she went to grab breakfast she realized, looking at her empty kitchen, that she had forgotten to go shopping and didn't have anything substantial to eat. Disgruntled, cranky, and hungry she left her apartment hoping that the day would start looking up soon. She was on her way to meet with the head of a new small music label based in New York. She had moved NYC a few months ago looking for a change of pace and she felt like she may have finally found it. Thankfully she was only five minutes late to her meeting and the man she was there to see was also running behind. After a short chat about what direction she wanted to go in and where the label stood she was on her way. Her day was already looking better. She decided to stop at her favorite coffee shop on her way home; she had the rest of the day off so she thought some reading and relaxing was a must.

Sam Evans was running early. Being someone that normally never showed up anywhere on time he was pleasantly surprised with himself. He had woken up before his alarm, took a quick shower, and was out the door with time to spare. He decided to head over to the park where he was supposed to meet his friend Jack. Sam had just moved to NYC and Jack was one of the only people he knew in a city full of thousands of people. Jack told him that he would show him around and help him get acquainted with his new home. Sam came from a small town so this new huge city was a bit overwhelming but he figured things out pretty quick and was always ready for an adventure. He knew he had time to waste so he paid extra attention to all of the shops and buildings as he strolled along the streets on NYC. He passed a comic shop about two blocks from his apartment. He made a mental note to check it out later, he could spend hours just browsing. He wasn't planning on going in anywhere but when he saw a coffee shop with cherry scones in the window he had to go in. When he lived at home his mom would make them every Sunday. He loved having little reminders of home, so he couldn't pass this up. Plus, he was hungry and had plenty of time.

The coffee shop was pretty slow for a Wednesday afternoon. Things always died down for a little bit around one thirty. When Mercedes had gotten there it was packed, she didn't know if she'd be able to find somewhere to sit. It died down soon after. After ordering and waiting for her coffee and lemon Danish she snagged the newest available seat, a big comfy arm chair right in the big bay window. She would have preferred something a bit more secluded but she wasn't going to be picky. She hadn't planned on staying long but once she got reading, and writing down some lyrics that popped into her head she got totally lost in her own little world. She was drawn out when she heard the bell on the door ding, causing her to look up. She saw a tall, blond guy walk in. Despite her current indifference to men she checked him out. She couldn't help it. He was very good looking. She checked the time and realized that it was way past time to go. She gathered her things and just as she went to open the door and hand grabbed it and opened it for her. She turned and to thank the stranger and noticed it was the same guy she had been eyeing earlier. She didn't know why she kind of froze. Okay, she did know why. She was staring into some of the most gorgeous green eyes she had ever seen. He had a kind expression on his face. He had a soft smile and kind eyes. But these things were irrelevant because this was her time. Mercedes Jones, single woman living in the big city and loving it!

"Th-thanks" She managed to stutter out and smile just before she exited the building. He followed her out and just as she turned to walk back to her apartment she heard a voice with a bit of a southern twang say  
"Sorry to bother you, but do you know if there's a park around here? I'm supposed to meet a friend but I have no idea if I'm going the right way." He did have some idea but he needed an excuse to talk to her. He had noticed her when he had entered the coffee shop. She looked very enthralled in what she was doing. It looked like she had a notebook and a book but he couldn't really tell. Whatever she was doing, the look on her face was beautiful. Full of concentration but also calm. He was very happy to see she was heading out just as he was doing the same. He wanted to talk to her, just once.  
"No bother, yeah. You're almost there. It's two more blocks down this street, take a right, and then walk about a block and you'll see it."  
"Thank you" he said with a smile. They both stood there for just a moment longer and then parted ways.

Mercedes was lost in blond man land for a minute when she realized what she was doing. She wasn't here for a relationship. Not to mention he was some random guy that she would never see again. She was being ridiculous. It had just been far too long since she had felt all lovey. She didn't like it. She sighed and put on her IPod so she could concentrate on something other than blond mystery man.

As Sam walked away he kept glancing backwards. He wasn't being pervy, although he did notice her backside was just as nice as her front, there was just this feeling he had. He was almost sad that she was walking so far away. As soon as he realized what he was feeling he tried to stop it. She was just some girl from a coffee shop that he would never see again. He had just gotten to New York. He didn't need a girlfriend or relationship of any kind. He had moved here for a fresh start, his last break up was pretty horrendous so he was happy to be on his own for a bit. Pushing all thoughts of that brown eyed beauty out of his head he tried to find his destination.

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**Should I keep going? Yes? No? Let me know whatcha thinkin :) **


	2. Hello, Again

**Hi again! Sorry this is up so late. I wrote about half and then accidentally ****erased****it. AHHHHHH! But I think this came out pretty good! :) Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! They mean so much/ keep me writing! I hope you enjoy!**

**I still own nothing! **

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_**Two weeks later**_

Mercedes had only been there a few months but she already had a little group of friends that made New York feel even more like home. They had all met at an open mic night during her first month of city living. She had been sick of sitting in her apartment by herself so she decided to take a walk. As she strolled down her block she saw a little pub with a sign in the window indicating that there was currently an open mic night happening. Something inside her told her that she HAD to do it. Now or never. So she went in, signed up, got on stage, and completely blew everyone away. When she belted out the last note of 'Feelin' Good' things went quiet. Normally she was very confident in her talent but the way everything seemed to stand still made her uneasy, until the room exploded in applause. Content with how everything played out she decided to grab a drink. That's when a two women and a man came over to her, singing her praises. Introductions were made and they started talking. First about music and then about their lives and the wonderful city they all called home. Maggie, Ashley, and Dan were some of the nicest people she had met. When they invited her to come to open mics at different places all over the city with them she was overjoyed. Mercedes got to see all of them sing and was dumb founded by their talent. Maggie was a petite brunette with the voice of an old soul jazz singing goddess. Ashley and Dan, whom she thought were a couple, sung together and holy shit their voices and harmonies were so perfect. When she brought up Ashley and Dan being together they both burst into a laughing fit. They had been friends in middle school and moved to New York together about a year ago they tried to explain while trying to stop laughing.

"We're just friends!" They managed to get out in between laughs. Mercedes thought they would be adorable together. Ashley was average height with auburn hair and curves. And Dan looked like a scruffy Disney prince. Maggie agreed with Mercedes and secretly told her that they would end up together eventually.

The group had been going to open mics for months now. Tonight they were going to that same little pub on Mercedes's block. She did one final check before leaving her apartment and thought "_Damn girl, you look great!" _She was ready to relax and have fun after a hectic week. She walked to the pub and found her friends at their usual table. As soon as she sat down she was handed her usual drink and the fun began. After about half hour it was her turn to sing. Maggie had just sung a tear jerking version of 'My Funny Valentine' and Mercedes decided it was her job to cheer things up again with some Adele. She was about done with the chorus of 'Rumor Has It' when something, well someone, caught her eye. It was a little dark so she couldn't completely make out his face, but there was a man with blond hair bobbing along with the beat. When she was done she got off the stage and tried to make out where she had seen him before. She knew she had seen him somewhere. It was driving her nuts. When she got back to the table she pointed him out to her friends.

"From what I can see he is a fine piece of man." Ashley crooned.

"Go talk to him!" Maggie said enthusiastically.

Mercedes reminded her friends that she was here for one reason, Mercedes Jones.

"Well there's nothing wrong with letting him be there for Mercedes Jones as well" winked Ashley. Mercedes just rolled her eyes and tried to change the subject. Dan had realized that he was out of beer and reminded Mercedes that it was her turn to buy drinks. They each always bought at least one round. Mercedes went over to the bar and ordered their usual drinks. As she waited she heard someone next to her say "You have a really amazing voice." She turned and came to face to face with the gorgeous green eyed stranger from a few weeks ago. It didn't click until she saw his kind face and matched it with his accent.

"Thank you," she smiled "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked trying to remain cool, but absolutely knowing who he was.

"Yes!" he replied a little too quickly and enthusiastically "You gave me directions to the park"

"You're not following me, are you?" She joked with a smirk.

He chuckled "No, my buddy Jack invited me out tonight, it was pure coincidence. I'm Sam." He said extending his hand.

"Mercedes, it's nice to meet you, officially."

After shaking hands they both kind of smiled at each other. Mercedes had unknowingly blocked out everything except for the man in front of her. That is, until the bartender cleared his throat and gave her the drinks she ordered.

"I better get back with these" she said nodding to the drinks. "It was nice seeing you" she adding while she walked away, almost reluctantly.

"You too" He half mumbled as he watched her leave. He cursed himself for not being able to think of something more to say. He was just too enthralled with her for his brain to work properly. Sam grabbed a beer and went back over to Jack and his group of friends.

"Who was that?" Asked Jack

"Some girl I keep seeing around."

"Ohhh?" Jack raised his eye brows suggestively.

"Not like that Jay. She gave me directions on the street a while ago, I honestly had no idea I'd ever see her again." Sam said as he glanced over to her.

"Okay" Jack said knowingly. He totally knew that look that Sam had on his face. He was interested in her, but he wasn't gonna pry.

Sam was so glad he didn't decline the invitation to the pub. He wasn't the bar going type normally so he was going to skip out but he decided to just see what was happening. Jack told him that he and a group of friends often went there because the drinks were cheap and the singers at the open mic didn't suck. Now that he had seen Mercedes he was very, very glad he tagged along. Not only was she beautiful but she was also extremely talented. He was kind of bummed when he realized he still knew nothing about her. He should have asked her last name! He decided to go ask her, or maybe he'd ask for her number. He took one more sip of his beer and turned to go talk to her again, but she was gone. He kicked himself mentally for missing out. Maybe he wasn't supposed to know anything more but her first name. He sighed and turned back to his newly found friends and tried to push all thoughts of her away.

Everyone said their goodbyes outside of the pub and went their separate ways. Maggie, Ashley, and Dan all lived in the same apartment building about ten minutes away if they took the subway. Mercedes was just down the street. They offered to walk her home but she insisted she was fine because it was so close, and she had mace if need be. She also wanted to be alone. She kept thinking about Sam. She knew absolutely nothing about him, but she wanted to, and she hated that. She thought about asking for his number or more about him but her brain shut off when she looked at him.

"This is dumb 'Cedes! Stop it!" she mumbled to herself as she went into her building. "You'll never see him again. It's fine."

A large part of her decided that it was a good thing. No distractions. But a small part of her wished that she would bump into him again.


	3. What are the Odds?

**Hi everybodyyy! Sorry there was a bit of a wait, life got in the way. Also I wanted to make this chapter a bit longer than the other two. As always thank you so much for all of your reading and support! It means so so much! You guys rock! Ok. On with the story! :) Happy reading!**

I own nothing.

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Sam woke up a bit hung over from the night before. He didn't think he had a lot to drink, but he also hadn't drunk anything alcoholic in a while. Was he becoming a light weight? He'd have to fix that. As he woke up and noticed it was early afternoon his nostrils were hit with a very less than pleasant smell that made him gag. He had forgotten to take the trash out, again. He sighed as he realized he could put it off no longer. He got up and threw on some sweat pants, he was to tired/ lazy to find a shirt that didn't smell or have a medley of odd colored stains all over it. He grabbed the two overflowing trash bags from the kitchen and headed outside. His apartment building had one big dumpster in the back. He disposed of his rancid trash and went to go back inside, unfortunately he forgot his keys inside and the door had shut and locked after he came out. He groaned and mumbled some choice words to himself as he walked around front. He had become friendly with a few of his neighbors so he hoped one of them was home and would buzz him in. He was about to ring the bell of his neighbor Jill when he heard someone singing softly across the street. He rolled eyes as he realized they were singing that song 'Royals' which he thought was completely over played however the lady across the street that was currently singing it sounded really good. Whoever was singing paused for a minute and sneezed.

"Bless you" Sam yelled across the street, not really paying attention. He was trying to find someone else to buzz him in cause Jill hadn't answered.

"Thank you!" The stranger yelled back. "Sam?"

That caused him to look up. He knew a few neighbors in his building but that was it. He looked up to see who it was and almost had to pinch himself when he saw who it was.

"Mercedes!" He said happily, crossing the street. He knew he had a big dorky smile but he couldn't help it. He thought about her all last night. He even contemplated asking the bartender if he knew anything more about her.

"So I think maybe you are following me." She teased with a smile and they both chuckled. She didn't want to seem like she was super excited to see him, he was a stranger after all, but she was. "What are you doing here?"

"Well currently I'm trying to get back into my apartment, I came to bring the trash out and I left my keys inside."

Mercedes heard bits and pieces of what he said because now he was standing right in front of her and his very defined abdominal muscles looked really great in the sun. _It should be a crime for this man to wear a shirt_ she thought. She paused for a minute as she bit her lip. "Wait, you live over there?"

"Yeah, what brings you to the neighborhood?"

"I live here" she said motioning with her keys to the building they were standing in front of. He looked a little dumbfounded. "Really?!" He asked after a second.

She giggled "Yes, really."

"Wow," he said "This is crazy! What are the odds?"

"What do you mean?

"First we just happen to be in that coffee shop at the same time and I honestly never thought I'd see you again, you know cause there are so many people in this city, and then I saw you singing at the pub and now we live across the street from each other."

"I see what you mean." She had to admit, it was kind of a crazy thing.

"I think maybe we're meant to know more about each other." He said confidently.

"What makes you so sure?" She asked honestly.

"Well, when I bump into a beautiful woman more than twice in one month I take that as a sign that we met for a reason."

She hoped that the blush she could feel coming on wasn't visible. "And what reason is that?" She knew he had a point but she was also a bit apprehensive.

"I don't know yet. But I think we should find out" He said with a smirk.

She sighed contemplatively "I think you might be right." She was smiling too, his was infectious.

"Then how about we grab some lunch, I mean all I know about you is your first name, and that you have killer pipes."

"Sure." _It's just lunch_ she thought _what's the worst that could happen?_

"How about I meet you at that cool looking place down the block a little bit, in about half an hour?" He asked, looking very excited.

"Bella's diner?" She asked trying to pinpoint exactly where he wanted to go.

"Yeah! That one!" He said as he grinned "I have to go find a way into my apartment and get a shirt."

_The shirt part is optional_ she thought to herself. "Good luck!" she said as he starting crossing the street. "It's Jones, by the way." She yelled across to him.  
"Evans," he yelled back knowing what she meant "See you soon Mercedes Jones"

"See you then Sam Evans!" She smiled back.

Mercedes had this weird feeling in her stomach. It was butterflies. She would never admit it, but that's what it was. She went up to her apartment to freshen up a bit before heading over to the diner. She had woken up early and decided to run some errands to get them out of the way. She just threw on some mascara and lip gloss and decided that was good. She sat on her bed and sighed. He was right when he said this was crazy. This was some movie type stuff. She realized she was getting ahead of herself. She didn't want a relationship and who knew if Sam did or not. Maybe he just wanted to be friends. That would be fine with her. From the few interactions they had she got the feeling that he was a really great guy. She picked up her phone to text Maggie and Ashley but decided against it. She didn't want to create excitement if this was a false alarm. He could be super boring. Or maybe he was an ax murderer and he really was following her. Although she doubted he was she made sure her mace was still in her purse. Her gut was pretty good when I came to feeling people out. And her gut was telling her that he was a nice guy. She needed to kill some time before leaving so she didn't get there too early. She checked her email and Facebook, checked herself one more time in the mirror, and then left.

Sam had managed to get back into the building within a few minutes, which was good because now he had to find a clean shirt and probably pants that weren't sweats. He couldn't stop smiling. He firmly believed in what he told Mercedes about them meet being a sign of something more. What are the chances of them living across the street from each other? He wondered if she thought this was a date. At this point he just wanted to get to know her better. He had a feeling that she was very interesting. He rummaged through his pile of clothes that was sitting in the bottom of his closet. After about ten minutes he found a red shirt without any stains and minimal smell and some jeans. He was about to change when he realized that his clothes didn't smell, but he did. He hopped in the shower really quick and then got changed and left.

When Sam walked into the diner he immediately spotted Mercedes. She somehow looked even prettier than she did a half hour ago. Whenever he saw her he had this pull to just be near her.

"Hello, Ms. Mercedes Jones. Mind if I join you?" He said as he walked up to the table where she was sitting. She looked up from her phone and smiled. He realized he may have totally let his inner dork take over and cringed internally. Until she replied

"Well, Mr. Sam Evans I was waiting for someone but I suppose." She had a mock haughty look on her face that left as soon as she smiled again.

"Okay so now that I know your name, what else should I know about you?" Sam got straight to the point.

"I don't know," she replied honestly "What do you wanna know?" She then realized that this could be a very awkward lunch. She was never any good at describing herself.

"Okay," he said "let's start with the basics, what's your favorite color?"

"Yellow. What's yours?"

"Blue. Why is yellow your favorite?"

"It's a happy color, you can't not be happy when you're looking at yellow. Unless it's one of those shitty shades of yellow." That made him smile. "Why do you like blue?"

"It reminds me of my mom. Blue is her favorite color too. She decorated the whole house in blue. Not in a weird way. Just in a she likes blue sorta way." She nodded, still smiling.

"So are you from New York?" He continued the conversation.

"Nope," she said "I grew up in a small town in Ohio. It's kind of like one of those towns that you see in the movies where everybody sorta knows everybody and you see the same people doing the same things every day."

"Wow, really? How come you moved out here?"

"Eh, once you're in Lima for your whole life you're ready to try something new. I've always liked the largeness of the city so I figured why not live here."

"Wait a minute," he now had a kind of incredulous look on his face "did you say Lima?"

"Yeah, why?" She could see the gears moving in his head and wanted to know what he was thinking.

"One time when I was about 6 my family and I went to go visit my dad's cousin up in Toledo. We were almost there when we got a flat. I'm almost a hundred percent positive that the town we stayed in that night was Lima."

"You're kidding me, right?" If he was actually telling her the truth then her mind was blown.

"I am completely serious! Scouts honor." He said as he saluted.

"You were a scout?" she asked

"No," he laughed "it just seems to make things more legit"

She chuckled at his honesty. They continued to talk about pretty much everything. He told her what it was like growing up in Tennessee. They talked about their families, their childhoods, and their pet peeves. Everything. As the waitress brought the check Mercedes looked at the clock and realized they had been there for almost three hours. Mercedes reached for the check but Sam grabbed it first.

"Hey! I was gonna take care of that." She furrowed her eye brows a bit.

"I got this." He said very nonchalant.

"Can we at least split it?" She was trying to reason with him but had a feeling she'd lose this one.

"How about you can pay next time?"

"So there's gonna be a next time?" She was so relieved he said that. She was having a fantastic time and didn't want it to end.

"I think there has to be. Like I said we've met for a reason. Also, I haven't had this good a time in a while. " The way he said it she could tell he was flirting, but she could also tell that he was just naturally like that. It was subtle and fun, nothing serious or overwhelming.

"Well, I'm glad you said that because I haven't either." She answered honestly.

"Eh, I don't know it looked like you were having a pretty good time at the pub last night."

"Were you watching me?"

"I had to make sure it was you." He said casually as he got up "Shall we go?"

She smirked "Sure."

They got up and walked out of the diner "So, it's kind of out of my way, but would you mind if I walked you home Ms. Jones?"

She laughed, the way he said things was so different yet very endearing.

"What?" he asked as he smiled at her, her laugh was infectious.

"Nothing, you're just one of a kind, Sam."

"oh?"

"In a good way!" She added to make sure he knew she meant it that way.

"Then thank you!"

The both went kind of quiet for a few minutes, just walking down the street. It wasn't awkward, it was just quiet. "I was having fun last night," she started "I always have fun with those three, but it's nice to hang out just one on one kinda low key." She didn't know why she was telling him this but the words were just coming out.

"I know what you mean. The group I was with was pretty much Jack's friends. I've met some of them before but I wouldn't call them friends. I just tagged along to kind of get out of the apartment. It's nice meeting someone new that I can talk to, ya know?"

She nodded. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"So," he said as they approached her building "I guess I'll see you around. It was great getting to know you, Mercedes."

"You too!" she said enthusiastically. "I had a great time." He turned to leave, still smiling. "Oh, hey hang on!" She said as if she had just thought of something. "Give me your phone." It was clear he was confused as to why she said that so she clarified. "So I can put my number in it."

"Ohhhhhh! Right! Here you go!" They swapped their phones and typed in their numbers. "I'll see you soon!" He said as he crossed the street.

"Thanks for lunch!" she yelled after him.

"No problem!"

Mercedes went up to her apartment and tried to process what just happened. She had a wonderful time with Sam and she felt very comfortable. She had a feeling they could be really great friends. He was super easy to talk to and a few times she felt her walls coming down. That scared her but Sam just being there made her feel a bit safer. She could tell he had a kind heart. Plus he wasn't bad to look at. She plopped down on her couch and smiled. It had been a very good day.

Sam went upstairs with a huge smile on his face. Mercedes was even more amazing than he had imagined. She was super easy to talk to, really interesting, and very beautiful. He had to keep himself from texting her as soon as he got to his apartment. _That might be a little much_ he thought. So he texted his friend Jack instead. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have bumped into her again. _This is really awesome _he thought as he recounted the events of the day to Jack.


	4. A Night Out

**Hello Lovely People! Thank you for all of the reading/ reviews/ support! You guys are awesome! Quick question: do you guys want longer updates that may take a little longer to get up (like this one) or shorter updates that will most likely be up a littler sooner? Let me know whatcha think :)**

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It had been a few days since Sam and Mercedes had gone to lunch. Sam had been waiting for the perfect time to text her because he didn't want to weird her out and text her too soon. She was doing the same. Two days after lunch she got a text from Sam that said

_Morning Mercedes! I talked to my dad last night, and in case you were wondering we did in fact stay in Lima that night our car got that flat when I was 6._

That made her smile. She wouldn't admit it but she liked waking up to a nice text.

_Wow! Following me before we even met. You're something Sam ;)_

He literally laughed out loud as he responded with

_Am I really that transparent?! Oh no!_

They continued to text for the rest of the week, whoever woke up first would send a good morning text to the other. Mercedes had called Maggie and told her she was thinking of inviting him out on Friday with them. Maggie thought it was great idea and told her that if she didn't do it then she would send Ashley over to do it for her. Mercedes texted Sam and asked if he'd be interested in going out with her and her friends Friday night. They were going to one of their favorite karaoke places. Sam said yes right away. He was kinda of a home body but he was excited to see Mercedes sing again. He could tell that she was completely in her element when she was singing. She told him that she was planning to leave around seven thirty so she'd text him when she was ready and they could meet everyone there.

When Friday came Mercedes was slightly nervous, which she kicked herself for. However she really liked Sam, he was quickly becoming a really good friend, and she wanted her little group to like him as well. She got home from work around six thirty. She quickly made some easy mac and then went and got ready. She decided to wear her favorite coral dress with some black sparkly flats. She curled her hair and put on her favorite make up. _Tonight will be a good night_ she thought as she checked herself out in the mirror. She noticed that it was about seven twenty so she texted Sam.

_You ready?_

Sam didn't want to admit it but he was pretty nervous to meet Mercedes friends. He didn't normally care if people liked him but these people were important to Mercedes, and she was becoming very important to him. He tried to remind himself that Mercedes wouldn't be friends with these people if they weren't nice people. That's just who she was. She left all the bullshit at the door and expected you to do the same. He could just tell. He spent the whole day doing laundry so he would have some clothes that didn't smell like sweat or leftover pizza. He didn't have work that day so he decided to clean his apartment. _No better time than the present _he thought. Plus he was hoping he could convince his family to come for a visit soon, at least his mom or maybe one of his siblings. He threw on a blue shirt and some jeans. Just then his phone buzzed, it was Mercedes asking if he was ready to go.

_Yeah! Heading downstairs now_ he replied as he left his apartment.

He went outside and didn't see her so he just sat on the front steps and waited. About a minute later she came out. His jaw dropped slightly when he saw her, she looked beyond incredible. As she walked towards him he realized what was happening and he collected himself.

"You look really beautiful." He said almost bashfully

"Thank you," she smiled "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"I try." He said as he brushed his shoulder and chuckled

"Let's go" she said as she rolled her eyes and laughed. He was such a dork.

The place they were going wasn't far and it was a nice night so they just decided to walk. They caught up on each other's day and chatted about this and that until they got to 'Slice of Heaven'. It was a pizza place/ bar during the weekdays and a karaoke bar on the weekends. The combo of fantastic pizza, cheap drinks, and karaoke had quickly made it one of the group's favorite places to go. As soon as they got there Mercedes took a deep breath and walked over to her friends with Sam following close behind.

"Hi guys," she said as cool as she could, her nerves were kind of getting to her "This is Sam! Sam this is Maggie, Ashley, and Dan."

The two girls smiled at him in a way that kind of said 'we think you and Mercedes should date' while Dan said "Hey Sam. Nice to finally have another guy around!" The two guys shook hands and Mercedes shot daggers out of her eyes at the two girls who were clearly giving Sam the once over. "Stop it!" she mouthed at them, which earned her a double eye roll.

"Dan, you knew what you were getting yourself into so quit complaining" Ashley said

"Plus," added Maggie "you love hanging out with us gorgeous women. Don't even try to deny it!"

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Dan joked as he look over to Sam who was now sitting opposite him, next to Mercedes.

"It must be really difficult." He teased back

"I think I sense a bromance coming on." Ashley teased the boys and they both laughed

Mercedes felt like a weight had been lifted. Everyone seemed to be getting along and joking as usual. _This is good_ she thought.  
"It's my turn to buy drinks, wanna give me hand?" Dan asked Sam

"Sure!" he said as they both got up.

As soon as they were far enough away from the table Mercedes turned to her friends. "Can you stop with those looks?" she said kind of angrily.

"Whoa, girl. Calm down." Ashley said "What looks?"

"You know what I'm talking about" she said as she rolled her eyes

"Look, we can't help it if we think you two should be together like, yesterday." Maggie chimed in.

"I barely know him!" Mercedes said "I met him last week!"

"Yeah, and did you or did you not go to lunch with him for THREE HOURS?" Ashley questioned

"Time just got away from us and it's- "

She was cut short by Maggie who said "and have you or have you not been texting each other all week?"

"Maybe, but-" She said quietly

"AH! No buts! You might not know everything about him, but he certainly isn't a stranger either." Ashley finished and both she and Maggie gave Mercedes knowing looks. Mercedes just sighed, she wasn't going to win this argument and she didn't have time to try either because the boys were back.

"So, everyone ready to have some fun?" Dan said as he and Sam approached the table. Everyone gave the affirmative. They all chatted and drank for a bit until Maggie decided it was time to sing. She went up and belted out a gorgeous version of 'You Make Me Like a Natural Woman'. Mercedes knew she was singing about her new boyfriend, they were kind of keeping things low key so the group hadn't met him yet. However Maggie was too excited not to tell Mercedes. When she came back to table she was informed that she was fantastic and also it was her turn to buy drinks. Just as she left Ashley dragged Dan up to sing 'Little Talks'. Even though they sang it almost every time they came here it still gave everyone goose bumps.

"Whoa," Sam half whispered to himself "they're really good!"

"I know" chuckled Mercedes. "Are you gonna get up there tonight?"

"I don't know if I can follow that!" He said looking kind of nervous.

"Come onnnnn" she said taking a sip of her second drink that Maggie had handed to her as she got to the table, she was feeling the buzz. "I'll sing with you" she kind of sang out that last part.

"Well, how can I say no to that?" he chuckled.

"Yes!" She exclaimed "But first, I needa pee." She got up to leave the table and then turned around and said "If they give you any trouble just tell me and I'll whoop some ass! Or you can do it. I don't mind!"

As she left Ashley and Dan sat down. Sam complimented their talent which they humbly thanked him for. "How long have you guys been together?" He asked trying to continue conversation.

Everyone chuckled as Ashley said "We're not, we've just known each other for a really long time."

"Oh, sorry!" He quickly said

"No Problem, man." Dan said "Everyone seems to think we're a couple."

"Speaking of couples!" Maggie interjected, knowing full well that if Mercedes found out what she was about to say she would kill her. "What's going on with you and our girl Cedes?" She decided to elaborate when Sam raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Are you just trying to get in her pants?" She got straight to the point folding her hands under her chin and looking at him with wide eyes.

"OH! NO!" He said quickly. "Mercedes is gorgeous and really awesome but we're just getting to know each other. I'm not just saying that, I really mean it." They could tell he was being honest. Sam was kind of an easy read. At least they all thought so. About a minute later Mercedes came back to the table.

"They didn't give you any trouble did they?" she said eyeballing her friends.

"Absolutely not!" Sam smiled at her.

"Okay." She said warily as she took another sip of her drink. The group chatted about work and how Sam and Mercedes had actually met. After she finished her drink Mercedes grabbed Sam's hand and said "Let's go sing Blondie!" He chuckled and willingly followed her. They decided to sing 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' after Mercedes said it was one of her favorite songs. She was a little too tipsy to realize it was a love song. Her friends all shared knowing looks as they watched them singing together. No one could miss the chemistry they had or the little looks they kept throwing back and forth.

"I give them about a month until they realize that there is something there." Ashley whispered to the other two. They all placed bets on when they would cave and become an item. Maggie said two weeks and Dan said three to six months. He knew Mercedes was very stubborn so even if she realized she liked Sam sooner she wouldn't admit it. Mercedes and Sam came back to the table and everyone told them how great they sounded together. They thanked everyone as they sat down.

The night rolled on and they all talked and laughed and listened to some really great and some not so great karaoke versions of their favorite songs. Mercedes went up and sang 'Happy' because tipsy Mercedes loved that song. After she finished and sat back down Maggie looked at her watch and realized it was almost eleven thirty.

"Come on 'Cedes! Time for some Salt N Pepa!"

"Wait!" she said then took a big swig of what was left of her drink "Okay! Let's do this."

Salt N Pepa was something that they sang only when they were together and slightly tipsy. Shoop was their favorite. The two woman sang/rapped the whole song without missing a beat. They danced and jumped around and just had a great time. Sam watched Mercedes and thought about how much more open she was after a few drinks. He didn't know if it was because she still didn't know him that well yet or if that's just how she was. Either way he loved to see her enjoying herself because she deserved to.

After they finished singing and grooving they went back to the table and everyone said their goodbyes. Sam and Mercedes walk in silence for a few minutes and then she said

"Did you have fun tonight?"

"I did," he replied smiling "your friends are really nice!"

"I like them." She joked "You should come out with us more often."

"I'd like that, but you have to dance with me next time because apparently you forgot to mention you could do that too."

"If you insist." She teased.

They both went quiet again, but it wasn't awkward. Then he noticed her shiver from the corner of his eye. So he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him and wrapped her arm around his waist. Normally she might not have been as okay with this but alcohol always made her stop analyzing everything. They walked like that the rest of the way home.

"By the way, thanks for not letting me know that you're a great singer." She joked as they walked

"I wouldn't say I'm great."

"Well you are, Sam Evans. Deal with it."

"So are you Mercedes Jones."

"I know." She winked.

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. When they got to Mercedes apartment building she turned and wrapped her other arm around him trapping him in a hug. She just stayed there for a minute before took a deep breath and let it out. Then she said  
"You really are great Sam" as she looked up at him.

He smiled and said "So are you Mercedes." They just kind of stood there for a minute, hugging and staring at each other. Until she yawned and said with a smile "I better go inside."

"Have a good sleep!" he said as he reluctantly let go of her.

"You too!" She walked up the front steps and let herself into the building. She had an even better time than she normally did. She was also excited that Sam had agreed to come out with them. Once she got to her apartment she took of her makeup and clothes and collapsed on her bed with a smile as she quickly faded into sleep.

Sam made sure she got into the building safely before he turned and went into his building. When he got in he stripped down to his boxer briefs and hoped into bed. He normally wasn't a huge fan of going out in groups but he had had a great time tonight. Dan was really cool and the girls were all really nice. He was excited to go out with them more, and of course to have another excuse to see Mercedes.


	5. A Night In

**HI! Okay, so I'm gonna start off by apologizing that this took me SO LONG to get up. I started writing it and then was hit with some major writers block. I would sit down to write and just not have anything. I want to write the best that I can so I waited until what was in my head would come out onto the paper (or screen rather) instead of just writing whatever. Anyway, thank you for being patient. I'm going to do my best to push through this block, however updates might not be super regular or timely. Sorry in advance. Secondly, thank you for reading the last chapter and thank you to all who reviewed it! :) You guys are great! I hope you like it!**

**I own nothin'**

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_Sam, you would tell me if I did anything completely embarrassing last night. Right?_

Sam woke up at the sound of his phone going off. He slowly opened his eyes and checked his phone, smiling at what he read.

_I would, I'd probably tease you about it as well. ;)_

_You suck._ Was all he got back but he knew it was all in good faith.

The night before came back to Mercedes in bits and pieces. She remembered everything that happened but it was a little fuzzy. She knew she had a good time though so she was happy. Then she remembered walking home with Sam and panicked a little. She thought really hard about what happened. She remembered hugging him and seriously considering kissing his oh so kissable looking lips. She was glad she didn't. She really liked Sam, but relationships always made things weird and oddly official. She wanted to continue to work on herself and in the past her relationships always got in the way of that. She wished her head and her heart would catch up with each other.

The next week flew by. Sam and Mercedes planned to meet up for lunch at some point but their conflicting schedules got in the way. Maggie texted Mercedes to make sure that Sam was gonna come out with them again. Mercedes considered giving Maggie his number and telling her to ask him. After she thought about that for a minute she decided that it was a horrible idea and just called him herself. She got his voicemail.

"Hi Sam!" She said happily. "I was just calling to make sure you still wanna come out with the gang this Friday. We're going to this new spot so we'll probably head out around eight. Lemme know! Byyeee!"

He texted her back a few hours later.

_That sounds good! I'll meet you outside at eight!_

Mercedes let Maggie know that Sam was coming. She really liked hanging out with Sam, the fact that he was slowly becoming part of her Friday nights made her excited. She loved her little group, but Sam made it even more enjoyable. Plus, now Dan would have a guy to talk to about things the girls weren't crazy about. Things like girls at the bar that Dan deemed "really smokin' hot". Even though everyone knew he would end up with Ashley eventually.

Mercedes woke up Thursday morning with a horrible headache and a sore throat. She considered calling off work but instead she went, hoping it would pass. Unfortunately it did not, it got worse. By the time she had gotten out of work her headache had dulled, but she felt like she was hit by a bus while swallowing a knife. She went home and hoped sleep would do the trick. The next morning she woke up even worse than the day before. She texted Maggie and told her she wasn't going out tonight/ to ask her to let Ashley and Dan know. Maggie told her that she'd let them know and they would miss her. Mercedes texted Sam to tell her she was staying in but he was still welcome to go meet everyone.

_Nah, won't be as fun without you. Do you need anything? _He replied right away.

_No. Thank you though! I'm just gonna try and relax tonight._

_Ok! Feel better! I'm right across the street if you need anything!_

_Thanks, Sam! :)_

Mercedes set herself up on the couch with pillows and a big quilt and turned on the TV. There wasn't much on so she just decided to watch the Catfish marathon that was currently on. The second episode was just ending as she heard her phone buzz. It was from Sam. All it said was

_Buzz me up!_

Slightly confused she groaned and got up to go let him in. She opened her door and waited for him. A few seconds later she saw him coming up the stairs with three plastic bags in tow.

"Sam, what are you doing?" She asked wanting to get right to the point. As much as she liked Sam she was tired and grumpy and she didn't really wanna see anyone. She wanted to know why he was there.

"Well, I'm here to take care of you." He said sounding pretty confidant, almost like he knew Mercedes would argue.

"I don't think so." She said shaking her head "I'm fine."

"Mercedes, you're not. I can't just sit over there knowing I can help and not help. "

"What makes you think you can help? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Fun fact about me, when I was about twelve I found out I had an iron clad immune system, like the superman of immune systems, I never get sick. So when my mom or sisters ever came down with anything I was always the one to take care of them. I got pretty good at it. Plus I'm southern and it would be very un-southern of me not to help a lady that needs it. " He smiled at her and then added "Even though I know you are very capable of taking care of yourself. But it's nice to have some help every now and then."

She sighed as she looked at him, taking in everything he had just said. She could feel her resolve breaking. She knew there was no point in going back and forth with him. He was the one person that would always have something to say back to her sass. Plus he was just trying to be nice and help out. She turned around and walked back to the couch leaving the door open for him. "Fine. Get your southern ass in here." She said as she plopped down into her little couch fort of pillows and blankets. He chuckled as he went in and shut the door.  
"Where should I put these?" He said gesturing to the bags

"Well, that depends. What's in them?"

"Oh!" He exclaimed "These two have ingredients for soup, cause I was gonna make it at my place but then realized that I should just make it here. And this one has movies, tissues, tea, and candy."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he had three heads. "Are you for real, Sam Evans?" She hadn't meant to say that out loud, it kind of slipped. She hadn't realized she said it until he responded with

"As far as I know, yes." He answered slightly confused at her confusion. She continued to stare at him, but only for a second.

"You can just put them over there on the table."

He put the bags on the table and started taking things out and putting them on the kitchen counter. Mercedes got up and went over to the table. "You're really making me soup?" She asked when she saw all of the ingredients.

"I really am. And lucky for you, it's my specialty!" He smirked as he continued to put things on the counter. She went over and sat on the opposite counter.

"How do you know how to make soup from scratch?"

"My grandma taught me, I love to cook so she taught me how to make all of her favorite family recipes when I was little. Now, where are your pots?"

She told him where everything was and he started cooking. She offered to help but he insisted he was fine. "Next time" he told her. He seemed very in his element. He tried to tell her to go lie down and relax but she told him she was fine right where she was. She was enjoying watching him do his thing, but she left that part out. They were talking about their families when Sam said

"You remind me of my aunt a little bit."

"Thank you?" she said a bit bewildered. He turned and looked at her when he heard the confusion in her response.

He smiled and said "My aunt is really great. She's my mom's twin but they're complete opposites." He continued as he went back to cooking. "She's a very strong confidant woman that doesn't take any bullshit."

"Oh?" Now she was kind of flattered.

"Yeah, not to say that my mom isn't strong or confidant but my aunt Cece is much more bold." Sam always spoke about his mom with respect and kindness; she could tell they were pretty close.

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks Sammy."

"It was intended to be one." he chuckled "You're welcome." He turned around and smiled at her. "This needs to cook for a bit longer, wanna start a movie?"

"Why not? I'm not going anywhere." She teased as she hopped off the counter and looked in the bag with the movies. In the bag was Bridesmaids, 21 Jump Street, Taxi, Chicago, The Avengers, Hairspray, and Pitch Perfect. "Did you really bring all of these over here?"

"Yeah!" he said smiling. "The rule is that when you're sick you can't watch anything that'll make you cry cause then you'll get all snotty. Plus, laughter is the best medicine. My sisters loved these ones the best so that's what I brought. I don't care what we watch so just put on whichever you want. Unless you hate all those then I ca-"

He was rambling so she decided to stop him. "These are great, Sam. Thank you." She couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. He was really, very sweet. She put Bridesmaids in and went and sat down on the couch. Sam was on one end and she was on the other covered in blankets and pillows. After about an hour the timer went off and Sam got up to check the soup. A few minutes later he came back with two bowls of soup and two mugs of tea. They ate on the couch as they watched the rest of the movie. When they were done eating Mercedes brought their dishes to the sink and grabbed the bag of candy. Sam had brought an assortment of chocolate, gummy worms, and hard candies. It was all her favorites, unbeknown to him.

After Bridesmaids ended Sam got up and grabbed Pitch Perfect.

"Don't tell anyone, but this is one of my favorite movies." He said kind of quietly

"You're secrets safe with me." She crossed her heart and smiled. He came and sat back down on his spot on the couch. They watched about half of the movie before Mercedes paused it so she could go to the bathroom and Sam grabbed more tea. She went back to the couch and asked Sam to grab the carton of ice cream in her freezer on his way back. He came back a minute later with tea, ice cream, and two spoons. They were pretty quiet as they watched, except for when they were laughing. At one point Sam had to pause it because Mercedes was laughing so hard. She didn't know why, because she had seen the movie before but for some reason it was just extra funny tonight. Sam was right, laughter was the best medicine. She did feel much better. Sam was laughing along with her, partially because the movie was funny and partially because her laugh was infectious. He was kind of glad she got sick. Well, not glad but he was having a really great time being with her just one on one. He had a great time being out, but he liked not having a bunch of other people there.

At first Mercedes had been bummed that she couldn't go out and even more so that she wasn't going to see Sam, but this night had turned out a lot better than she thought. Normally she didn't like company when she was sick however, Sam was really great. Things were really low key and she appreciated that. Conversation came very easy between them. He was also very sweet; bring all this stuff over to make her feel better. She never met a man, or anyone really, that was nice just because. Most people she met were nice, but they always wanted something in return. Sam wasn't like that, at least not that she knew of. Her gut was telling her that he was one of the good ones and she decided to trust it.

After Pitch Perfect ended Mercedes got up, grabbed another movie, and popped it in. As she sat back down she yawned, hard.

"Are you sure you wanna watch this?" He asked sounding slightly concerned "I can go if you want."

"Why would I want that?" She asked looking over at him

"You just seem tired. I don't wanna keep you up or anything."

She smiled at him. He was always looking out for her, but not in a weird or overbearing way. "You're not, I'm fi-"she stopped mid-sentence to yawn again. "fine." She finished her sentence. He raised his eyebrows to say "yeah mhm sure you're fine" without actually saying it.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, how about you stay and we watch this, but I'll lie down." Before he could say anything she tucked her legs to the side and laid her head on his lap. "Better?" She said looking at the tv.

"Yeah." Was all he could think to say. He hadn't expected her to do that, but he wasn't complaining. He could tell that she had walls up, lots of them. He felt like he noticed them coming down a little more each time they were together. He was lost in thought when we noticed her pause the movie and turn a little bit to look at him.

"Thanks for coming over tonight, Sammy." She had a small smile on her face, but also a fierce air of seriousness about her.

"Anytime! That's what friends do. Right?"

"Well, I've never had anyone do that for me. I really appreciate it."

"Then maybe you should get different friends." He teased "Present company excluded."

"Oh you think so?" she asked, playing along.

"yeah, except I'm the best at taking care of sick people. I don't think you'll find someone better."

"Then I guess I'll have to keep you around for a little longer." She said, smiling again and turning back to the TV while pressing play. Sam rested his hand on her arm as he watched her watch the movie. He knew they were just friends but at the moment he wished they were more. He kept his eyes on her for another minute before turning his attention to the movie. Not even thirty minutes into the movie and she was asleep. He chuckled to himself and smiled, thinking that this night in had been even better than their night out.

Mercedes had always taken care of herself. She never really wanted anyone else to. She forgot how nice it was to let someone help every now and again. As much as she hated to admit it, after she told him how much she appreciated him taking care of her, she wanted to kiss him. She hated that that thought kept popping up. They were just friends, and that's what she wanted. At least she thought that's all she wanted. _This was much better than going out_ she thought as she watched the movie and let herself fall asleep while Sam drew invisible shapes on her arm.


	6. Bacon and Kids

**Hi everyone! Again, sorry this took a long time! My head has been kind of fuzzy! As usual thank you for all of the love you're showing for this story! It is VERY much appreciated!**

Unfortunately I own nothin'

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The next morning Mercedes woke up to the sound of Sam lightly snoring next to her. She was lying with her head on his shoulder so she sat up and stretched a little bit. She was surprised he had stayed the night instead of just heading home. She looked at him for a minute and smiled. His hair was all messy and his mouth was slightly open. He was really cute. She got up and went to her bedroom to check her phone. She had about ten texts from Maggie.

_Cedes! How are you doing?_

_we miss you!_

_are you dead?_

do I need to have Sam go over there to take care of you?

that's actually not a bad idea. Call him!

he's there already isn't he?!

you sick little hussy!

just kidding! But really, is he there?

also are you actually dead? Why aren't you answering? Maybe you're sleeping….

WITH SAM! MAYBE YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH SAM! OMG I WANT THE DETAILS!

seriously, text me back when you wake up!

I really do hope you feel better… and don't hate me for all these texts. Luh youuu!

Mercedes chuckled at how ridiculous Maggie was. She loved that wacky little weirdo.

_I'm not dead. I'm feeling much better actually. Sam invited himself over last night, I'm just about to make us breakfast now. _

She felt much better than she had yesterday; she knew that was in part because of Sam. She decided to thank him with breakfast. She went to the kitchen and started making some eggs and bacon. After that was done she made some toast and took it all into the living room. Sam was now lying flat on his back, still snoring. He looked really peaceful and she didn't want to wake him but it was almost eleven and she didn't know if he had work.

"Hey Sleepy Head!" She said nudging his leg with her foot "Wake up!" He didn't move. Mercedes put the food down on the table and sat down on the edge of the couch. "Sammy," she said a bit softer this time while shaking his arm "it's eleven, wake up!" Sam grunted and turned his head so he was facing away from her. This time she leaned in close to his ear while still shaking him and said "Sam, I made bacon, wake up." He turned his head not realizing how close she was, he looked up at her just inches above him.

"Hey" he said sleepily and paused for a second. "Did you really make bacon?"

She nodded her head yes as she got up, "I'm gonna grab some orange juice. You want some?"

"Sure. Thanks"

Mercedes went to the kitchen and rested against the counter for a second. She took a deep breath, she was flustered and she knew why. She was just very close to his face and his lips. The ones she kept thinking about kissing. _Wtf cedes. Pull it together._ She thought. She didn't know why she was so infatuated with him. She was happy being single, she wanted to be single. She grabbed the juice and went and sat down next to him on the couch.

"How ya feelin'?" he asked as he chomped down on some bacon.

"Much better, thanks to you."

"It was grandma's magic sick soup, but I'll take the credit."

"How was the couch? You didn't have to stay you know." She felt kinda bad that he slept over. She was sure his bed was much more comfortable.

"It was really comfy actually. Plus, someone was asleep on my leg." He smirked. He didn't mind staying over, especially if it meant spending more time with her. And bacon.

She chuckled "Well _someone_ was nagging me about going to sleep!"

"You made bacon so we're even." He finished with a wink. "This is really good by the way."

"You're not the only one that knows how to cook, Evans."

He chuckled "Do you have work today?"

"No I called off, what about you?

"Me either! Maybe we'll actually be able to hang out for a bit."

After they finished breakfast Sam suggested that they go for a walk, it was supposed to be really nice out. He ran over to his place to change and met her out front ten minutes later. He was of the firm belief that she could never look bad. She came out in a plain white shirt and black pants with her hair up in a bun and not a stitch of make up on. Most girls he knew had to have make-up on and their hair done whenever he was around. He never saw the point of it, but he thought it was cool that Mercedes didn't seem to be like that. He crossed over to her side of the street and offered her his arm. She took it and they started walking towards the park a few blocks away. When they got there they sat on a bench on the edge of the park. They were both quiet for a few minutes then Sam spoke.

"Do you want kids?" he was staring to the right of the park where the play set was, not in a weird way, in a contemplative kind of way.

"Right now?" she asked taken aback

He looked at her and chuckled at her 'are you freaking crazy' expression. "No, just some day."

"Oh," she said looking more relieved "I don't know I used to think about stuff like that all the time but, I'm not so sure anymore. What about you?"

"I think I do. I've kind of always wanted to be a dad."

"You'd be a great dad. I can tell." She smiled at him looking wistfully at all the families.

"Thanks. How come you're not sure about all that stuff? If you don't mind me asking." He asked looking back at her again.

She shrugged, looking away. "I thought I was gonna settle down with my last boyfriend, but" she paused and took a deep breath. "Things just didn't work out and the more I think about it the more I'm not sure if that whole kids and love thing is something I want."

"You don't want love?" he looked a bit confused.

"I don't know if it is a real thing. The more I think about it the more it seems like some weird fantasy. Everyone is in love with the idea of love and right now I just don't get it."

"I know what you mean. I think when you meet the right guy though you might change your mind. Or maybe not. Who knows. I felt the same way after my ex and I split but coming to the city made me rethink things a little bit."

"I'm not opposed to anything, I just don't see it happening." She said with a sort of sad smile.

"Just don't over think things. I used to do that all the time. It's a killer." He said looking off again.

"I'll try." She said softly as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Your future kids are gonna be really lucky to have you as a dad." He didn't answer but she could tell he was smiling. She didn't know what it was about him that made her so comfortable but she was very at ease. She wasn't sure if that made her uneasy or not. She decided to stop overthinking, for once, and just enjoy his company on this nice day.

Sam knew Mercedes wasn't telling him everything about why she didn't want to fall in love, but he also knew that's how she was. She always held a little something back. He realized that she seemed to open up a little more every time they were together, so he wasn't gonna push. He was just gonna enjoy her company and when she was ready to or wanted to talk she would. "I HAVE AND IDEA!" Sam said as he jumped up and grabbed Mercedes hand.

"What?" She asked kind of surprised.

"Just come with me!" he said pulling her along with him.


	7. Just Friends

**Hi! Here's the next chapter! I'm gonna try to have the next chapter up asap but sorry if it takes me a while. Thanks to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, and following! You guys are so awesome! :) **

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"I HAVE AND IDEA!" Sam said as he jumped up and grabbed Mercedes hand.

"What?" She asked kind of surprised.

"Just come with me!" he said pulling her along with him.

Mercedes didn't know what was going on but Sam seemed pretty excited. He was kind of like a kid himself in that respect, he got really excited really easily. He had a childish air about him, but not in a bad way. "Sam, slow down. Where are we going?" she asked as he practically dragged her behind him.

"Sorry." He said slowing down with a coy smile "You're just gonna have to wait and see Em."

"Em?" she half asked half laughed, looking up at him questioningly.

"Yeah, cause you're name starts with M."

She just smiled at him as they walked. After about three minutes they were in some random area that looked kinda sketchy. "Where the hell are we?" She questioned as Sam started to go through a giant bush.

He stopped and turned to her "Just trust me okay?"

She was extremely skeptical but decided to just go with it because, if she was being honest, she did trust him. She sighed and said "This is some horror movie shit. You know that right?"

He just laughed and held some branches out of the way for her. She stepped through and was pleasantly surprised when she saw a small river and lots of random, colorful flowers growing everywhere. It was like they had just stepped out of the city. "Where are we?" she asked in awe.

"I'm not totally sure, I just found this place one day when I was walking around."

"Sam, there is an entrance right over there." She said with a stern look, pointing to a break in the hedge fence with a small arch over it.

He smiled and nodded "Yeah, I know. It's more fun to come in this way though. It's also quicker."

She just rolled her eyes and smirked. "So why are we here?"

"I just wanted to show it to you. It's a really nice place to just come and not think or think a lot." He said as he lay down in the grass. "That part is up to you."

"It's really peaceful." She said as she sat down next to him.  
"Exactly, this is where I come if I really need to think about things. It kind of reminds me of home, but also the city. It's the best of both worlds."

"How come it reminds you of home?"

"Just 'cause it's so calm and slow, if that makes sense."

"It does." She nodded as she laid back.

As Sam lay there next to her he thought about what had happened over the past day and a half. Yesterday he hadn't planned on showing up on her doorstep with movies and food, it just kind of happened. He also hadn't meant to stay the night. However whenever he was near her he felt a kind of calm that wasn't there when he was with other people. When he hung out with other people it was always so tiresome, like he had to keep them entertained, but with Mercedes it was the opposite. He didn't think about too much, he just let himself have a good time being with her. When she fell asleep on his lap he didn't really make any real effort to move her or leave. She needed her sleep after all. Then there was this morning. When she woke him up, and was really close to his face. Those lips he kept thinking about kissing were just inches from his own. After she got up he realized that he had almost kissed her, but his head told him that that was a bad idea. He wasn't totally sure how she felt about him and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away. He looked over at her; she was lying down with her eyes closed. He decided to take his own advice and stop overthinking things. They were friends and he really liked being with her. It made him sad earlier when she said she didn't want to fall in love, not because he could see himself falling for her already, but because she deserved to be loved to the fullest.

Mercedes looked at the sky for a few minutes and then closed her eyes, thinking about what was going on with her and Sam. She realized that she didn't know what was going on. They were friends and that was it? Right? She felt like she was falling for him, but then she realized that she had never really had many close guys friends before so maybe she was just confused. He really seemed to care for her and that was something she was gonna have to get used to because he seemed to be sticking around. Everything was really easy with Sam; she didn't feel like she had to be anything she wasn't. She decided to just relax about this whole thing. She needed to just take things as they came. She always had a hard time trusting people but that didn't seem to be a problem with Sam. All of a sudden she felt like she was being watched, she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Sam. He was staring at her with a smirk on his face.

"Whatcha smirkin' at, Evans?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just you, Jones." She turned her head back to the sky but not before he saw her smile. "Hey, there's a great pretzel place around the corner. Wanna check it out?" He asked as he sat up.

"I do love pretzels." She replied as she stood. "Lead the way."

"They have like fifty different kinds. Plus a butt load of different sauces." He started walking and grabbed her hand. He wasn't sure why, he just did.

"Seriously?" She asked before just quickly glancing down at their hands.

"Yeah! The jalapeño one is really good if you like spicy."

"Hmmm," she said scrunching her nose, something he thought was totally adorable "What do they have for sweet?"

"Oh, they have a really good cheesecake one."

"A cheesecake pretzel?" She looked like she was trying to contemplate if it would actually be good or not "That sounds like it could be nasty."

"It's actually really good. They have a bunch of different fruits you can put on top."

"Well, cheesecake is my favorite."

"Mine too." he said smiling.

When they got to Twisted there was a line out the door. They grabbed a number and decided to wait for a few minutes to see if the line moved at all, which it did. Once they got inside Mercedes was in awe of how many different combos they had. Sweet, salty, savory, and some that seemed just plain gross. As she was looking at the menu she noticed that the older woman standing next to her was smiling at her and Sam. She found it odd but just smiled back. "How long have you two been together?" she asked still smiling.

"Huh?" Mercedes asked as she leaned in a little closer figuring she heard her wrong. Sam hadn't noticed any of this. He was trying to decide between a chocolate chip pretzel and a bacon one. He really loved bacon. He decided to see if he could get a chocolate chip one _with_ bacon. When Mercedes leaned in to hear the woman better it pull on his arm a bit, they were still holding hands.

"How long have you two been together?" she repeated nodding towards Sam. He just smiled, still not sure about what they were talking about.

"Me and him?" she glanced back at Sam who was standing there smiling, looking totally clueless. "No, we're just friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed." Then she leaned in a bit closer and said "If I were you I'd scoop him up before someone else does." She finished with a wink and leaned back.

Mercedes giggled and shook her head looking back at the menu.  
"Everything good?" he asked when she leaned back to where she was before.

"Yeah, that lady was just wondering how long we've been together. I told her we're just friends. This must be how Ashley and Dan feel." She told him, chuckling. Before he could say anything the cashier called their number. Mercedes decided to try the cheesecake one Sam had suggested and Sam got a chocolate chip one wrapped in bacon.

"Sam? Did you seriously just order that?" She asked once they had ordered and were waiting at the pickup counter.

"Yeah, why?" he clearly didn't see what was wrong with that.

"Cause you consumed like half a pig at my apartment and now you're having more bacon. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack."

"I just really love bacon. I promise to have a salad for dinner, okay mom?"

She just laughed and shook her head. "Without bacon in it!"

"Fine." He said as he mock pouted. She couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he did that. They got their food and decided to eat there. They sat at a table in the back with big arm chairs. Sam insisted Mercedes try some of his bacon chocolate chip invention, mostly because she told him it looked gross.

"Alright, it's not bad." She admitted after trying a bite.

"I know my eats!" He said with a proud smile.

They finished eating and decided to head back, it was almost three and Sam remember he was gonna Skype with his siblings at three thirty. Mercedes thought it was really nice that he was so close with his family. Neither of them had plans for the rest of the day so he told her he'd call after he was done Skyping.

"Thanks again for yesterday." She said as they walked down their street arm in arm. "and today."

"It was my pleasure." He said as he hugged her. They were both quiet for a second, hugging for maybe a little bit too long. Then he said "I never realized but you're kinda short. Can I call you shorty?" He knew this question would probably get him in trouble but he thought it was too funny not to ask. She looked up him with a look that said 'like hell you can' but started smiling when she was him trying not to laugh.

"Absolutely not, Stretch!" She said as she pushed him away "Go talk to your family." They both laughed as they parted ways. Mercedes hadn't realized she left her phone at home until she got inside. She grabbed it off her nightstand and saw another batch of texts from Maggie.

_BREAKFAST!? AS IN HE STAYED THE NIGHT?! OOHHHHH GET IT GIRL!_

Sick my ass, you were just tryin' get some lovin' from that hunk of man candy!

Is he still there?! Why aren't you answering me? I bet you're tied up…. WITH EACHOTHER! TEXT ME BACK.

You really know how to leave a girl hanging.

MERCEDES JONES! TEXT ME BACK OR WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS!

jk. I love you too much, but seriously what's going on? I want all of the dirty details! ;)

Also, if you end up pregnant I might slap you!

but then I'm gonna insist you make little Mercedes/Sam, Samcedes if you will, call me auntie Maggie cause I like the sound of that.

YOU TWO WOULD MAKE SUCH BEAUTIFUL BABIES. Get on that!

I'm losing my mind. Just freakin call me or something when you're done sucking face.

Mercedes actually laughed out loud at just how utterly out of her mind her best friend was. She knew she would never hear the end of it if she didn't respond to her soon so she decided to call her. She picked up on the second ring.

"Well, if it isn't Miss. Mercedes Jones. Queen of pretending she's sick so she can love up on the neighbor boy."

"Whoa. Hey. Slow down crazy! Nothing happened." She laughed, this woman was too much.

"Mhmmmm" Mercedes could practically see her 'that doesn't fool me for one second' look through the phone. "That's what they all say."

"Well, I'm serious. I told him that I wasn't going out last night cause I wasn't feeling well and he showed up with food and movies. It was very sweet actually." She tried to explain to her friend without grinning like a doofus, but it wasn't working.

"I can hear that grin. Why did he stay the night if nothing happened? Hm? Cause in my experience guys don't just stay the night if nothing's gonna happen."

"We were watching a movie and he asked if he should go cause I seemed tired. I told him I was fine but he kept saying I should get some rest. So, being the smart ass I am, I laid my head in his lap and I accidentally fell asleep."

"And that's all?"

"Yes, that's all."

"Then why did it take you SO LONG to text me back?"

"We went out after I made breakfast."

"Pffttt, just friends my ass."

"Maggie. Stop it! You know I'd tell you if something happened." She was quiet for a minute, they both were.

"I'm gonna come over so we can talk about this more. If that's okay? Or is your _just friend_ still there waiting for another platonic sleep over?"

Mercedes really loved Maggie but she could do without her sass. "No, you can come over ya crazy bitch."

"Alrighty! I'll see you in about twenty minutes."


	8. Maggie and Mercedes

**OH HEY! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE WEEK! I'M ON A ROLL! (I think, I don't wanna jinx myself) This chapter is just Mercedes perspective. You'll get Sam's next chapter. There is also a lot of Maggie in this chapter. I'm glad you all love her as much as I do. Thanks for reading and reviewing! It means so much! You guys are awesome! Also sorry this is kind of a short update. **

**I own nothing! Whomp. **

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"I'm gonna come over so we can talk about this more. If that's okay? Or is your _just friend_ still there waiting for another platonic sleep over?"

Mercedes really loved Maggie but she could do without her sass. "No, you can come over ya crazy bitch."

"Alrighty! I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

Mercedes checked her email, facebook, and tumblr while she waited for her friend to get there. She didn't know why Maggie wanted to talk about it more, nothing happened. Maggie always made a big deal out of nothing. She was such a drama queen sometimes. Almost exactly twenty minutes later Maggie rang her buzzer. Mercedes buzzed her in and opened her front door. A minute later Maggie appeared and said "we have some talking to do, get your butt inside."

"What are you talking about?" Mercedes asked as she moved aside to let Maggie in.

"This situation with Sam, I want to know every last detail."

"Mags, there is no _situation_. I don't spaz out when you hang out with guys. Why are you freaking out about this?" She said as she sat down on the couch.

"I'm not, it's just you guys seem really good together and I like that my friend is getting some well-deserved attention." She replied kicking her shoes off and sitting next to her friend. She wasn't trying to freak out, she was just excited. She knew that Mercedes wanted to be single, but she wanted to remind her bestie that having a boyfriend wasn't the worst thing in the world. Mercedes just sighed at her. "Alright, well what did you two do today?"

Mercedes told her about going to the park, their conversation about kids, the garden Sam had shown her, and Twist. Maggie sat there looking so happy. "See?" Mercedes said "Nothing happened, just a couple of friends hanging out."

Maggie just raised an eyebrow. "Seriously Cedes? I think there is a little something more going on. You can tell me ya know? I'm not gonna run over there and tell Sam."

"I know. I just," she sighed "I don't know."

"This is cause of that asshole Brendan isn't it?" Mercedes just looked at her with a kind of sad look that completely crushed her, and also made her hella mad. "He's not in your life for a reason, girl."

"Oh I know, trust me. I don't want him back in my life."

"Then what is it? Why are you so opposed to being in a relationship?"

"Well, after seeing my parents train wreck of a marriage and then being in a relationship much similar I'm just not interested."

"But not all relationships are like that."

Mercedes just looked down at her couch for a minute and took a deep breath. She didn't know how to explain that she would love to be in love but she was terrified that it was just some far off fantasy without sounding crazy. So she just decided to say it anyway.

"I don't know if I believe that love is an actual thing." She told her friend, still not looking up.

"What? That's crazy, Mercy."

"No, it's not. I've never actually seen two people in love. Like actual real love. I've seen it in movies and on TV or in books, but that's it. I don't remember my parents ever being in love. All I remember is yelling and fighting and anger. Then when I dated Brendan it was the same thing. I don't know _how_ to be in a normal relationship. Mainly because I don't know what that is."

While she listened to her best friend explain Maggie's heart ached for her. She couldn't imagine going through what Mercedes had or not believing in love. However, she now had a better understanding of why she felt the way she did. Taking her friends hand, causing her to finally look up, she said "I don't think there is such thing as a _normal_ relationship. I think it's different for everyone. I'm sorry that you had to deal with your parent's problems, but maybe their relationship and the one you had with Brendan was to show you what you don't want or need. I understand what you're saying and if you don't want to be with Sam, or anyone, that's up to you. I just don't want you missing out on something good because you're scared. Does Sam make you feel like douche nuts did?"

Mercedes smiled at her friend's new nickname for her ex as she shook her head no.

"Well there you go. Sam is not your ex. So maybe give him a chance? I don't know him well enough to tell you how he feels or if he is really a good guy or not but you need to trust your gut. You're strong Mercedes, I think if you push out all the negative bullshit and walls you have built up you'll be able to figure things out a little better." Mercedes didn't know what to say because her friend was completely right. So she just leaned over and hugged her.

"Thanks for being so great, Mags." She finally said when she let go.

"You're my sister from another minster! It's my job!" she said with a smile making them both laugh. "Now, that we've sorted you out it's time for you to help me with my problems."

"What happened?" Mercedes asked slightly worried, what had Maggie gotten herself into this time?

"You remember that guy I'm seeing?"

"The one I've never met and only heard about?" she asked with a stern look, she wanted to meet him and Maggie kept putting it off.

"Yeah, that one."

"What's the problem?"

"I'm not sure, he's been kind of stand offish lately."

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yeah."

"I think you just have to ask him about it. Guessing isn't gonna get you anywhere." She felt weird giving Maggie advice seeing as she clearly needed some help in the guy department, but she just told her what she would do in that situation.

"Won't that make me seem clingy?" she asked looking worried

"I don't think so. If you feel a certain way it's for a reason. If he's not willing to address how you're feeling then maybe he isn't the guy for you."

Maggie smiled at her friend "Ya know for someone who's single you give pretty good relationship advice."

"I don't know why." She laughed back.

The two girls continued chatting for a little about life, and boys. They decided to go grab drinks later that night. Mercedes told Maggie to invite her mystery man and Maggie agreed, but only if she would invite Sam. They decided to ask if Ashley and Dan wanted to come too. Maggie called her boyfriend and Mercedes texted Ashley. She figured she'd just wait until Sam texted her to ask him. Maggie just decided to stay for a while until they went out, they hadn't hung out just one on one in a while and it was clear they both needed some girl time.

Sam texted her around five.

_Hey! Just got done skyping._

How was everyone?

Good! I think they might visit soon so that's cool. What are you up to?

That's awesome! Maggie came over a little while ago. We're gonna go get some drinks later. Wanna join?

Sure!

They decided to meet everyone else at a club that Maggie suggested. For some reasons Mercedes was nervous. _It's Sam, calm down_ she told herself. Maggie obviously noticed the looked on her friends face because she said

"Stop freaking out. We're gonna make you look banging and then we're gonna go out and have a great night!"

Mercedes just smiled at her.

"And then you and that blond hottie are gonna get it on and make a bunch of cute babies for me to spoil rotten." She added with an almost evil smirk.

She just rolled her eyes and said "I don't know who dropped you on your head as a baby but you need help."


	9. Sam and the Evans Clan

**So I just realized that this is chapter 9! whhaattt?! I'm gonna try to start moving things along now, I hadn't realized how far in I was. The story just kinda took on a life of it's own. This chapter is from Sam's POV and it has his family in it. Next chapter will be them all out having a drink or two or like twelve. We'll see! Let me know what you think please and thank you! And also thanks for reading/reviewing/ being awesome! **

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_"Thanks again for yesterday." She said as they walked down their street arm in arm. "and today."_

_"It was my pleasure." He said as he hugged her. They were both quiet for a second, hugging for maybe a little bit too long. Then he said "I never realized but you're kinda short. Can I call you shorty?" He knew this question would probably get him in trouble but he thought it was too funny not to ask. She looked up him with a look that said 'like hell you can' but started smiling when she was him trying not to laugh._

_"Absolutely not, Stretch!" She said as she pushed him away "Go talk to your family." They both laughed as they parted ways._

Sam went up to his apartment and texted his sister asking if she was ready to Skype. She texted him back to let him know that some of the family would be joining in. That made him even more excited. He talked to his mom on the phone quite a lot but he hadn't seen either of his parents since he got here. They both had pretty busy schedules. Sam grabbed his laptop and got comfortable on his couch. He knew he might be there for a while. A few minutes later his younger sister popped up on his screen.

"SAM!" She practically yelled with a huge smile on her face.

"MOLLY!" He said with the same smile and excitement.

"_Everyone's_ here. Incase Lucy didn't tell you."

"Everyone who?" he asked. Lucy, his older sister, hadn't specified who was there and the way Molly had put an inflection on the word everyone made him a little suspicious.

"Mom, dad, Tom, Fiona, Little Frankie, Lucy, and me."

"Wow. Where is everyone now?" it was very quiet for all of those people to be there.

"Oh, downstairs. I wanted to talk to you first before everyone started fighting to talk to you."

"You always were smart. How are things?" His sister was only three years younger than him but he was always very protective of her. He hated being so far away.

"Things are good! Nothing new really. How's the big city? Have you made any friends yet? Or do you just sit in your little apartment by yourself all the time?"

"Nope, no friends. I sit in the dark and stare at the wall." He tried to say it as serious as possible but he was in too good a mood.

Molly laughed at him and shook her head. "That sounds pathetic. Come back home, you won't have time to sit for more than two minutes." That made him laugh, things were always very busy at his house. Especially since his brother Tom and sister- in- law, Fiona, started having kids. "Seriously though," she said "how are things?"

"Things are good." He thought about the past two days he had spent with Mercedes and couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face "Things are really, really good."

"What is it you aren't telling me?" she could tell he was grinning like an idiot for some reason other than things just being good.

"Nothing sis. I just really love the city." He knew he'd get nagged if he mentioned Mercedes, especially seeing as they weren't even dating. He was just falling for her and he wasn't quite sure if the feelings were reciprocated.

"Mhm. Okay. Sure. I'm gonna bring you downstairs to see the rest of the fam. Hold on." Sam let out a small sigh. He hoped he was off the hook. Molly was the one that grilled him the most and she didn't seem to believe him but she did seem to drop it. He saw Molly put her computer down on the dining room table "Hold on one sec." she said as she walked away. A minute his brother showed up with his son, Frank, and sat down.

"Hey little bro!" his brother said with a smile.

"Hey! Hi Frankie!" His nephew smiled and waved "He's getting huge!"

"You're telling me!" Tom answered looking at his son. "He's walking everywhere now. He can't keep still." As if on cue Frankie started squirming trying to get off his dads lap. Tom put him on the ground and he practically ran away. A second later Fiona appeared with him in her arms.

"Hi Sam! How's the city?" she said with a smile. She had been with Tom since they were both juniors in high school and now they were in their thirty's, so she was part of the family.

"Hi Fiona! It's good! I love it!"

"Oh good! We're gonna have to come visit soon! I keep trying to drag your brother out there but you know how he is." Sam just laughed; he knew exactly what she meant. His brother wasn't big on travel. He was a total homebody, only traveling if he absolutely had to.

"You and Frank can come and leave my lump of a brother home."

"I don't think so! You're not gonna get rid of me that easily." Tom smiled at his brother. "We'll get there eventually." The three of them talked for a few minutes about how different the city was to their little town in Tennessee and how fast Frank was growing. "When are you gonna have some of your own?" Sam's brother asked.

"Wow. I thought mom would be the one asking me something that. Not you."

"ASK HIM WHY HE'S SO HAPPY AND SMILEY!" he heard Molly yell from somewhere out of frame. "HE TOLD ME IT WAS CAUSE HE LOVES THE CITY BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S IT!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "AND TELL MOLLY TO STOP BEING THE NOSEY BRAT SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN." He yelled back in a teasing tone. Fiona chuckled at the siblings exchange as she walked away with a fussy Frank.

Just then Molly poked her head in the shot and said "Can't, brother. It's my specialty." Then she was gone again.

Tom laughed at his younger siblings and then raised an eyebrow at his brother. "What's she talking about?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy." Sam really tried not to give anything away by smiling too hard but he again his face betrayed him.

"Who is she?" asked his brother.

"What are you talking about?" He knew he probably wouldn't get out of this, but he tried to play dumb anyway.

"Don't play dumb little bro."

Sam was about to say something when his older sister Lucy popped in. She looked at him for a minute and then squinted. "You've been in New York for two months now, you're not smiling about the city."

"Hi Luc! Nice to see you too. I'm good, thanks! How are you?" He was doing his best to change the subject .

"Nuh uh. No subject change. What's her name?" Lucy said sounding just like their mom.

"There is no _her_. I have some really great friends, but that's it."

"Ohhhhh" Tom said as if he had some sort of epiphany. "You're _just friends_. Gotcha."

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. Sometimes there was no escape from his family's prying.

"You saw her today didn't you?" Lucy asked getting excited.

"I spent most of today with my friend Mercedes. If that's what you're asking." He knew his brother picked up on way he grinned when he said her name. _Here it comes_ he thought.

"Yup, that's her." Tom said looking at Lucy, who just nodded in agreement. Sam just sighed again. He was going to tell them to just drop it when their mom came into the picture.

"Hi Momma!" He said excitedly, almost like he was a kid again.

"Sammy! How are you?"

"I'm great! I miss you guys though."

"We miss you too. As I'm sure you're siblings were saying?" she questioned looking at her other two children with an eyebrow raised.

"No, we were just talking about Sam's girlfriend." Lucy said as she stood up "See you later Sammy, I've got to run. Love ya!" She blew him a kiss and practically ran away. She knew if she stayed she would have gotten yelled at for that last remark.

"You're girlfriend?! You have a girlfriend?! Why didn't you tell me? When can we meet her? Is she there now? Let me talk to her." Nora said in a matter of maybe three seconds.

"Whoa! Mom, chill. I don't have a girlfriend. They're just trying to make me mad."

Nora smacked Tom on the shoulder. "Don't do that to your brother, Tommy!"

"Mom, look at him. There is definitely something going on."

"Is there something going on, Sam?" she asked smiling, getting a little closer to the screen for a better look.

He cursed his family's ability to see right through him, or maybe himself for being transparent. He wasn't sure which one it was. Also he couldn't keep things from his mom so he just decided to tell them. "Alright, can you take me into the kitchen or somewhere more private? I know there are nosey little ears just waiting for a chance to pounce."

"I'm not little!" Molly yelled, still out of the picture. Sam just shook his head. His brother took the computer to the kitchen and set it down on the counter. Then they both looked at Sam urging him to let them know what was up.

"Well? Ya gonna tell us?" his brother asked, seeming kind of impatient.

"There's not much to tell. I have this friend and I don't really know what's going on." At first Sam was hesitant to talk to his brother and mom about this whole situation, but he knew they would give him really good advice. They always did.

"How do you feel about her?" his mom asked.

"I'm not sure. I really like being with her."

"How does she feel about you?" His brother questioned

"That's the thing. I have no idea. She's really guarded."

Just then Mr. Evans walked in. "Your mother was like that too." He said coming into frame "What are we talking about?"

"Sammy's girl situation." Nora said very nonchalant.

"It's not a situation, Mom. You guys kept hounding me so I told you." Sam said

"Do you have feelings for this girl?" Pete Evans was a get straight to the point kind of guy.

"I think so, there's just something about her." Sam knew there was no point in trying to hide it from them anymore. They would find out eventually.

Pete glanced down at his wife and smiled, something Sam totally caught. "I know what you mean."

"But I don't know how she feels about me."

"Look, when I met your mother she was very tight lipped. I had no idea how she felt about me. One day when I couldn't take it anymore I just sat her down and told her how I felt about her. It must have worked cause look at how things turned out." Pete and Nora were about to celebrate their thirty fourth wedding anniversary, so that made them Sam's go to on love advice.

"So you think I should just tell her how I feel and see what happens from there?"

"Just feel things out, and if you really think you wanna be with her then yes." Nora told her son.

"Alright, thanks guys." Sam felt a little bit relieved. Even though his parents had never met Mercedes he felt like his dad's advice was pretty solid. He decided he would wait a little and if it came down to it he would just sit her down and tell her how he felt. It sounded simple, but maybe he was trying to make it too complicated. It was okay for things to be simple.

Sam talked to his family for another hour or so. He loved catching up on everything he was missing. Before they said goodbye his mom told him she was gonna try and get everyone together soon for a visit. That made Sam ecstatic because it felt like he hadn't actually seen them in forever. After everyone said their goodbyes Sam texted Mercedes.

_Hey! Just got done skyping._

_How was everyone?_

_Good! I think they might visit soon so that's cool. What are you up to?_

_That's awesome! Maggie came over a little while ago. We're gonna go get some drinks later. Wanna join?_

Sure!

They decided to walk over in about an hour. Sam hopped in the shower and got dressed. After talking with his family he had a new outlook on things. He wasn't worried about how things were gonna go, he just decided he would have a good time and if he was falling for her, like he knew he was, he would just have to tell her eventually.


	10. Out at the Club

**So I wanted to have this up last night but it got late. Here is the gangs night out! It's the longest chapter so far cause I couldn't leave you guys waiting any more. ;) I hope you like it! Also I'm gonna have the next update as soon as I possibly can because well. you'll see. Thank you again for reading and all of your kind reviews! I'm so happy you guys love everyone just as much as I do. I don't own glee or any of the songs mentioned here. **

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"I might have to call the fire department," Maggie said as she sat at the end of Mercedes bed looking at her "cause you are smokin!"

Mercedes just chuckled at her friend as she looked in the mirror. "I do look good don't I?" She said with a smile. "You don't look half bad yourself."

"Please. I look like a goddess. You ready to go?" she asked as she got up and grabbed her purse.

"Um, yeah. I think so." She tried to not look nervous but she knew it wasn't working. For some reason knowing that she was gonna see Sam made her nervous. Not necessarily in a bad way, just in a 'I'm not sure what's gonna happen and I don't wanna like this boy but I do' kinda way.

Maggie put her hands on Mercedes shoulders so she couldn't avoid her. "Breathe. We're gonna have fun. Don't make me slap you."

"Don't do that. I'm fine."

"Okay good. Let's go." When they decided to go out Mercedes assumed that Maggie would have to go back to her place to get ready. Instead she pulled a dress and make up bag out of her purse. Maggie always thought ahead, she probably knew they were going out before she even came over. Mercedes didn't even question her because this was not the first time it had happened. She loved having girly days like this with Maggie. It always made her feel better, plus she had a great fashion sense.

She changed into a hot pink tank top with a black and white polka dot skirt. She put her hair in a messy bun and just freshened up her make up a little bit. Apparently she decided she was gonna be in charge of Mercedes outfit, hair, and make-up as well. Mercedes told her she didn't feel like a dress so to pick out anything but. They eventually decided on black skinny jeans and a loose white tee shirt that said 'Hello Gorgeous' across the front. Mercedes took her hair out of the bun it had been in and just left it down and Maggie insisted on doing her make-up. She gave her a light smoky eye and red lips.

When they got outside Sam was sitting on his stoop across the street. He was doing something on his phone so he didn't see them.

"Hey, Evans! Ready to go?" Mercedes yell across the street as they started walking over.

Sam looked up with a smile on his face. Maggie didn't miss the slight falter in his face when he saw them, she hoped Mercedes didn't either. As they crossed the street he stood up and continued to look like he wanted to devour Mercedes. Something Maggie also noticed.

"Hello?" Mercedes said as they approached him, noticing that he didn't seem all there. "Earth to Sam."

"You look beautiful." He said still smiling and looking at Mercedes. "You both do!" he finished seeming to snap out of whatever daze he was in and notice Maggie standing there as well.

"Thanks!" the two women said almost simultaneously. Sam was back to smiling at Mercedes and she was doing the same.

"Should we get going?" Maggie asked knowing if she didn't they might just stand there all night.

"Oh, yeah! Let's go!" Sam said as he offered his arm to Mercedes. Maggie looked at her with a knowing smile which made her roll her eyes. It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the club. Once they got there they found out that Ashley and Dan were already there. As soon as they found them they all noticed something was different. Even Sam noticed and he had only met them once.

"Hi guys?" Maggie said raising an eyebrow.

"HEY MAGGIE!" Ashley said with such excitement that they all thought she might have already been totally loaded.

"Sam!" Dan said "Nice to see you again!"

"You too, man." Sam said as they shook hands

"You good?" Mercedes asked Ashley as she hugged her and then Maggie.

"Fantastic!" she said. "I'm glad you're feeling better!"

"Thanks, I had a little help with that." She told Ashley as she smiled over at Sam.

"Awww. That's so sweet!" Ashley went to go sit back down in the booth they had when she realized that her drink was empty. Noticing she was headed to the bar Sam offered to go get everyone drinks. Sam headed over to the bar and Maggie and Mercedes sat down.

"So, what's up?" Mercedes asked as she examined Dan and Ashley. There was something different, new.

"Nothing. What's up with you?" Dan asked back very nonchalant.

"No, but like _what's up_?" Maggie asked, trying to make the question clearer. She knew exactly what Mercedes was asking because she was wondering the same thing.

"Nothing?" Ashley said sounding slightly confused. "What's up with you and Sam? Did he take good care of you?" she asked Mercedes as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

"Y'all are nasty." She said pointing between Maggie and Ashley. "He came over and made me soup and we just hung out. That's it."

"You're telling me this guy came over and made you soup and you just chilled?" Dan asked

"and then he slept over." Maggie practically sung with a smile

"HE SLEPT OVER?! Like slept over or _slept over_?" Ashley asked while doing that same thing with her eyebrows again.

"The first one. We both fell asleep while we were watching movies. No biggie." Mercedes said less than pleased about their topic of conversation.

"He must really like you." Dan said

"Why do you say that?" She almost smacked herself. She hadn't even thought to ask Dan what he thought about this whole thing. A guy's perspective would probably be helpful.

"I'm just saying I wouldn't do that for a girl unless I really liked her." He said as if he didn't seem to understand what a big deal this was.

"Told you." Maggie said sticking her tongue out. Mercedes just looked at her letting her know she was not pleased. "Whatever."

"There's nothing going on between us. So just drop it."

"So you wouldn't mind if he was getting a bit chummy with some hot blond at the bar?" Ashley asked like she knew something Mercedes didn't.

"What?" Mercedes said looking over to where Sam was standing waiting for drinks.

"Mhm, nothing." Ashley said as she sat back.

When Mercedes looked over she saw a very tall, leggy blond practically hanging off of Sam. For a second she got jealous, then she realized that not only were they not dating but the attention Sam was getting from the, seemingly drunk, girl was unwanted. She could tell by the way the he kept politely moving away or removing her hands from his body. Before she could think about what she was doing she was walking over to where they stood at the bar.

"Hey babe!" She said smiling sweetly at Sam. He turned to her and looked confused at first, but then she shot him a look and nodded towards the woman falling all over him. It was apparent that he got what was going on.

"Hi Honey. What's up?" he asked putting his arm around her shoulders

"Just seeing if you needed help with the drinks. Hi," she said wrapping her arm around his waist and turning her attention to the woman standing on the other side of him. "I'm Mercedes. His girlfriend." The other woman just rolled her eyes and stumbled away.

"Thanks for that." Sam said laughing

"No problem, that's what friends are for right?" She could have kicked herself for phrasing it like that. _Friends_. That was stupid.

He just stared at her for a minute. "Yeah."

She wasn't sure what happened but the mood shifted for a second. They were still standing at the bar with his arms over her shoulders and hers around his waist but the look on his face was just slightly more serious. He looked like he was about to say something when the bartender interrupted.

"Here you go." He said as he placed the drinks in front of them.

And then things were back to normal. Sam removed his arm from her shoulder and grabbed some drinks while she grabbed the rest. She would never admit it but as soon as he moved his arm she missed him touching her. When they got back to the table Maggie smirked at her letting her know she totally saw what just happened.

"Stop it!" Mercedes mouthed at her. Maggie just continued smirking. Just then man fitting the description of tall, dark, and handsome came up to the table. Maggie got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Everyone, this is Steve." She said practically beaming. She introduced everyone as he sat down with them.

"Nice to _finally_ meet you." Mercedes told him.

"You too. Maggie talks about you guys all the time!"

The group talked for a bit, getting to know a little more about Steve and just chatting. Then 'Rather Be' came on and Maggie jumped up. "THIS IS MY FAVORITE! WHO'S DANCING WITH ME?!" Mercedes and Ashley stood up and went with her to the dance floor. The guys just watched them for a minute. Dan smiled as he watched Ashley, she was supremely uncoordinated. Especially next to Maggie and Mercedes who were pretty good dancers.

"So what's up with you and Mercedes?" Dan asked Sam after a minute.  
"What do you mean?" He asked

"You made her soup dude."

Sam sighed; even Dan knew how hard he'd fallen for her. "Yeah, I did."

"And you're not with her?" Steve asked looking surprised.

"No."

"You've got it bad, man." Dan said chuckling.

"I do." Sam said as he smiled over at Mercedes. "What's up with you and Ashley?"

"Nothing?"

"You both seem, I don't know, different."

"Did you guys just get back together or something?" Steve asked. Dan laughed because it seemed like them being a couple would never be dropped.

"Nah." Dan said and then paused "She's my best friend."

"What was that pause for?" Sam asked

"I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like we act like a couple and everyone thinks that we are one, so why not just make it a thing?" Dan said as he looked over at Ashley and smiled at her slightly off beat dancing.

"Look dude, if you like her as more than a friend just tell her. You never know how long you have." Steve chimed in. Dan just sighed.

"What about you and Maggie" he asked Steve, wanting to change the subject.

"We're good. I'm just trying to make sure I don't screw things up." Steve said looking over at Maggie.

"What'd you mean?" Sam asked him.

"She's just so-"

"Crazy?" Dan interjected.

"Ha! No, different. I really like her. I don't want to mess anything up."

Sam and Dan both nodded knowing what he meant. A few minutes later the girls came back all out of breath, having danced nonstop for two songs.

"Dan, wanna go grab us some more drinks?" Ashley asked when they all sat down. "Pllleaaseee?" He sighed and got up. "Thank youuu!" she smiled at him. Dan came back with everyone's drinks just a few minutes later, he also had a round of shots because apparently he thought that would be a good idea. Maggie was very pleased with this.

"DAN! Yes! This is why you're my favorite! LET'S DO THIS!" She exclaimed as he set the drinks down and everyone grabbed one. Maggie tossed hers back and then grabbed Steve's hand and practically dragged him behind her. "Let's dance boo!" They heard her say as she walked away.

"What are we gonna do with her?" Mercedes asked as she laughed.

"I think we should keep her." Ashley said also laughing.

"What do you guys think about Steve?" Mercedes directed her question towards the guys. She remembered the talk she had with Maggie earlier and wanted to know if anyone thought there was something fishy going on.

"He seems cool." Dan said

"He really likes Maggie so that's good. He told us he's just trying not to screw things up with her." Sam added.

"Oh, that's sweet." Ashley said and Mercedes just nodded.

"Hey, let's go dance." Dan said to Ashley as he stood up.

"Okay!" She said following him over to the dance floor.

"What the hell is up with them?" Mercedes asked as she watched them dance a little closer than usual.

"I don't know, but something." Sam said wondering the same thing.

"Did Dan say anything?"

"Not really. Just that sometimes he thinks that they act like a couple and stuff so why not just be one." he said very casually.

"Did he really say that?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"I knew it! He totally has a thing for Ashley." At least now she could help move things along with them.

"You think so?"

"Does a guy say that kind of thing if he doesn't?"

"You do have a point there." Sam wondered if Mercedes would realize that he had a thing for her or if she was just that observant with her friends.

"There are always those two people that everyone wants to get together but they don't see it. It's such a pain in the ass." She said as she looked over at her friends.

Sam looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

They were both quiet for a few minutes. "I love watching Ashley," she said "She has no rhythm but not for lack of trying." They both chuckled. Ashley knew she couldn't dance but she didn't really care.

"Does she always dance like that?" Sam asked nodding over to Maggie and Steve who were so close it was almost hard to tell who was who.

Mercedes laughed "Yeah, that's Mags. If she's feelin it then there is no stopping her." She took a big swig of her drink. "Speaking of dancing," she said as she stood up and grabbed his hand "I think I owe you one. Come on, Stretch."

Sam smiled remembering last week when he told her she had to dance with him next time they were out. "Good memory, Shorty." He smirked.

"Hush." Was all she said back.

They found a spot near their friends and started moving, maybe a little awkwardly at first. After a few seconds the song changed to 'Bang Bang'. "This is my favorite!" She yelled over the music really getting into her grove. She was singing along and dancing when Sam started doing some weird body roll thing at her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She asked

"Dancing." He said very matter of factly.

She started laughing, and if she wasn't so cute he might have been offended. "Oh, Sam. Here, like this." She said as she took his hands and moved a little bit closer trying to help him a bit. They were both laughing and singing. Sam wasn't a bad dancer; he was just kind of goofy sometimes. He kept throwing in those body rolls making her laugh. They were dancing almost as close as Maggie and Steve. When Sam starting rapping the Nicki Minaj part she took a slight step back because he had caught her totally off guard.

"Okay so maybe I like this song too!" He told her. She just laughed at him and resumed dancing and singing. Mercedes and Sam danced for another few songs, probably a little too close for _just friends_. Sam was more than happy to dance for as long as she wanted. He loved seeing her having fun and that fact that she really knew how to move didn't hurt either. Normally Mercedes might have shied away from dancing up on one of her friends but she decided to just have fun. A song came on that both of them weren't too fond of so they decided to go grab some water.

As they walked over to the bar Sam noticed some guy checking Mercedes out so he put his arm around her shoulder and smiled at him. The other guy looked kinda pissed but just looked away. For a second Sam felt kinda bad about it. He wasn't with her so he really had no right to cock block her, but he at least wanted a chance with her. If she explicitly told him that she didn't see him _that_ way then he would refrain from any future cock blocking.

They got their drinks and decided to go check out the balconies upstairs. When they stepped outside into the cooler night air things seemed to settle. The noise was still there but instead of a loud roar it was more like a quiet buzz. The throngs of people were nowhere to be seen and the air was very refreshing. Mercedes walked over to the edge of the balcony, took a deep breath, and peeked over the edge to the traffic below. Then she looked up to the sky.

"I'm not much of a club person." She said still looking up.

"Me either." He said as he came and stood next to her. They both stood there in silence and looked at the stars for a minute, even though they were practically invisible.

"When I was little my mom and I used to lay in the grass in the backyard and look at the stars. It was my favorite thing to do with her. It kind of bums me out the stars here are M.I.A."

"I know what you mean. The stars back home are insane, mainly cause I used to live on a farm in the middle of nowhere." He looked over at her as she stared straight ahead, chuckling at his last statement.

"We didn't quite live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn't a big city either. Somewhere in between." She said as she looked at him. He could tell she was partially in her own little world. So he decided to just start asking questions, partially to figure out what she was thinking and partially because that's just what he did. He was a curious man.

"Did y'all look at the stars a lot when you were younger?"

She looked away from him again. "I've never really thought about how often we would lay there, but yeah. I guess it was a pretty frequent thing. I just liked being there with her next to me."

"That's nice." He replied honestly. When she didn't say anything else he went to ask another question but she started talking again.

"My parents used to fight a lot. I'd sit in my room and try to ignore it but sometimes they would yell too loud. So when it all got to be too much I would run outside and sit in the little playhouse I had out back. When they were done screaming at each other my mom would always come find me. One night she decided to just lie down in the grass so I did the same and we laid there for what seemed like hours. I think I eventually fell asleep. Anyway, anytime they fought we'd go lay outside and look at the stars."

Sam couldn't see her eyes because she wasn't looking at him, but he could tell that this was a sore subject for her. He could also tell that it was something that still hurt her, even if she didn't say so. He didn't know what to say so he just hugged her. At first she just stood there but after a second he felt her arms around him and her head rest on his chest. He put his chin on top of her head and decided he wasn't gonna let go until she did. He didn't know how long there stood there like that but he didn't really care either.

Mercedes didn't know why she decided to tell him that random story but she couldn't seem to stop talking. Being tipsy did that to her. Normally she thought carefully about what she was saying but when she had a few drinks forget it. She was the word vomit queen. As she continued to talk she realized that, even though she wished she could stop, it was making her feel better. She never realized how much she had bottled up. When she was done telling him this super personal story that she never intended to tell him he didn't say anything. She didn't want to look at him because not only was she tearing up she also didn't want to see the potential look of pity or possibly annoyance on his face, so she just kept staring at the buildings around them. She was about to apologize for dumping that on him when he hugged her. At first she was confused and felt like pulling away. Normally when she was upset the last thing she wanted was people touching her but this was different for some reason. She realized that he still hadn't said anything, which was weird cause he was always talking. She realized that maybe this was his way of saying it was okay. That's how it felt anyway. So she hugged him back and laid her head on his chest. He made her feel safe. Like she could tell him all of her secrets and it'd be okay. After what seemed like forever she pulled back a little bit and looked at him with a small smile.

"I'm sor-" she started but he cut her off.

"Don't apologize. You can tell me anything you want to tell me. Okay?" She just nodded her head. He didn't know why, maybe it was the few drinks he had or the fact that he was totally into her, but he leaned forward until his lips were on hers. Just as his head screamed '_WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS. BAD TIMING BRO._' she kissed him back. Her arms moved from around his waist to around his neck as she pulled him closer to her. His brain completely shut down until she pulled back much too soon for his liking. She had that same smile on her face but she also looked serious and all he could think was _oh shit_.  
"Mercedes, I-"

This time she was the one to cut him off. "We need to talk, Sam."

"Okay." He nodded

"Not here though." Without another word she took his hand and they left. She didn't even bother to stop and find her friends, she knew that would take forever. She shot Maggie a quick text.

_Sam and I are leaving. Tell everyone bye and sorry we had to skip out early._

When Sam told her she could tell him whatever she wanted she couldn't help but smile and nod. She had never met anyone like him. Although she was guarded she wanted to tell him everything at the same time. Before she could comprehend what was happening she felt him kiss her. Again she was confused but she couldn't deny that kissing him had been on her mind all day. So instead of stopping him she decided to just go with it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She needed him closer. Even though she was completely lost in the moment her brain kicked into overdrive. She realized that they needed to talk. She wanted to be with him. She knew she did so she needed to explain why she was always so guarded, and see where he wanted to take this. So she took his hand and, without much explanation, left the club and headed to her apartment.


	11. Answering Some Questions

**UPDATE! whoop! Sorry it took me over a week! but here it is! I hope you like it and thank you for being so awesome with all your reading and reviewing and loving it! :) **

**I own nada.**

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She knew she maybe should have said something but the last thing she wanted to do was have this conversation on the subway or walking to her apartment so she just kept quiet. She couldn't really think of what to say anyway. Sam was also very quiet which wasn't like him, his mind was racing.

_Is something wrong? She's mad I kissed her. No. Wait. She smiled._ Then he looked down at their hands that were still intertwined. _If she was mad she wouldn't still be holding my hand._ Then he looked at her face, she turned and smiled nervously at him. _She's gonna break up with me. No. Wait. We're not together. Plus I don't think she'd smiled at me if she was gonna ditch me._ His thoughts were interrupted when she spoke.

"Stop looking so nervous, Blondie." She smiled at him. He just let out a breath and gave her a lopsided smile back. That was all that was said until they got to Mercedes apartment. When they got in she kicked off her sneakers and went to sit on the couch. He just kind of stood there so she patted the space next to her. He went and sat down, still looking kind of nervous. She sighed.

"I don't really know where to start." She said biting her lip.

"Well, why don't you start with why you're being so mysterious all of a sudden?" he asked gently.

That's when it donned on her that maybe she was being completely ridiculous about this whole thing. Maybe he just kissed her cause he was tipsy? Or maybe he did like her? Either way maybe this whole 'let's sit down so I can tell you how messed up I am' thing was out of line. Oh, shit. She thought.

"Sorry. That wasn't my intention. It's just- well, I. Um. I'm just confused I guess." She told him looking very bewildered.

"About what exactly?"

She could feel the word vomit coming. "Everything." She said as she stood and started to pace. "Like why did we keep bumping into each other? Why did you kind of just breeze into my life? Why am I questioning everything? Why do I feel like maybe relationships aren't that bad after all? Why do I like you so much? Why- Why did you kiss me?" She stopped pacing and at first she looked confused but then her eyes got very big and her mouth dropped open. Like she couldn't believe that she had just said all of that. Then her hands flew up and covered her face while she mumbled something he couldn't understand. He was trying hard not to smile but she was really adorable. He got up and walked over to where she was standing. He took her wrists and gently moved her hands away from her face. She was looking down and seemed to have no intention of looking up.

"I didn't quite catch that." He said smirking, hoping that would get her attention.

Her head snapped up and a glimmer of hope appeared. "Any of it?" she questioned.

"No, just the last part you mumbled into your hands." He chuckled

"Oh." She said looking a tiny bit disappointed. "I said I can't believe I just said all that." Sam just smiled at her as he went and sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him just as she had a few minutes ago. She smiled and sat down next to him, tucking her feet under her.

"Okay, let's take this one thing at a time. You were talking kind of fast but I think the first things you asked were why we kept bumping into each other? And why did I breeze into your life?"

She just nodded, still in disbelief at what she said.

"I don't really have a solid reason for either of those questions. I just think we were supposed to know each other. I'm still not sure why but I'm glad I met you. Next question is why are you questioning everything?"

Again, she just nodded.

"Can you be more specific? Cause I don't know if I have an answer for everything." He teased trying to lighten the mood a bit.

She laughed a little. "It's just when I got here, to New York, I was completely set on being single. My last relationship and break up was pretty crappy so after that I just decided to focus on me. Well that was over a year ago and I've been fine. I've been happy on my own but then you pop up and I'm starting to question my stance on not being in a relationship."

He was smiling and she wasn't exactly sure why. "I respect that; my last break up was pretty bad too."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking?" She really wanted to not have to talk for a bit because she realized that when she was talking stupid things came out like her stupid feelings for him.

"We were together for two years and then she cheated on me with one of my close friends. Looking back on it now I realize that she was kind of an asshole so I guess it's good that we're not together anymore." He shrugged and looked away from her. His hand was on the couch next to him. She reached over and squeezed it.

He looked over at her again. "I'm really sorry that happened, Sam. Even if she was an ass, it was still a super shitty thing for them to do." She looked less embarrassed and more concerned for him now.

"Hey, it's not your fault. That's partly why I came to the city, to get a fresh start." She gave him a kind of knowing smile and shook her head. "Onto the next question you had." The nervous look returned to her face and she bit her bottom lip. "Why do you feel like relationships aren't bad after all? What made you think they were bad in the first place?"

"It's kind of a long story." She said

"I've got time." He said as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. She raised an eyebrow at him. He just smiled at her.

She let out a sigh. "Well, like I was saying when we were out my parents always fought. Actually it was more of my dad yelling at my mom. He would go off at just about anything. Her forgetting to pick something up at the store, her misplacing something, me getting grades that weren't up to his A plus standards. Anything. As I got older I realized that that isn't what a normal healthy relationship should be. At least I hoped it wasn't. I always used to think that if that's what a marriage is then I want no part in it. I still think that sometimes." Now she was staring at the wall opposite of her and she seemed a bit distant. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees looking at her. She was quiet for a minute.

"Why didn't y'all leave?" he asked quietly. She looked at him for a moment before she spoke.

"I don't know. I really don't. I told her we should have left many times but we never did. I have no idea why but I think she still loves him. Even after everything they're still together." She paused for a minute, like she was contemplating something. "Any way after all of that I thought that if I got with someone that was completely different from my dad it would be fine. You know what they say about picking people that remind you of your parents?"

He nodded this time.

"Well, it's pretty accurate. I didn't realize it at the time but the guy I was dating was pretty much exactly like my dad. He was mean, stubborn, controlling. I don't know why I stayed with him. I guess I just liked having someone there." She shrugged. "After he told me that he didn't love me anymore and- and he started- um." She paused again and sighed. "I left him and I decided that I needed to just be on my own."

She was staring ahead again, off in her own thoughts and he just stared at her for a minute again. Just like before he didn't really know what to say. He could have said a whole bunch of things but none of them seemed right. So he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. She leaned into him, rested her hands on his arm, closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. They sat like that, quietly, for a few minutes.

"Last two questions." He practically whispered as he leaned back a bit so he could see her. "Why do you like me so much? I don't have a definite answer for that one except I'm pretty likeable so that's probably it." She smiled. "And then the other one was why did I kiss you. I do know the answer to that one."

"and what is it?" she asked sounding hesitant as she turned her head a little to look at him.

"Because I like you, Mercedes Jones. Maybe it was really horrible timing but I just couldn't not kiss you anymore. I just like being with you. I can't really explain it but something about being with you feels right."

She smiled and shifted a little so she could face him more. "I like you too, Sam Evans. I've got to be honest with you though, I'm a mess sometimes."

He looked at her with a serious look on his face for a second and then smiled just a little. "Spaghetti can be a mess sometimes and it's still delicious." Then he closed the small gap between them and kissed her. This time though it was just a quick soft kiss as if to punctuate the end of his sentence. She couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face even if she tried, which she didn't. What he just said was goofy but it made sense to her. It was kind of like things had been put into perspective. It was okay to be a mess. She didn't have to have things together all the time. It was okay.

"Let's make a deal." He said

"What is that?" she asked as he unwrapped his arms from around her and took her hands.

"How about we both stop overthinking things and just be honest with each other?"

She nodded. "I think that's a good idea. I'm not always the best at saying how I feel but I'll try."

"Good." He said smiling. "Now this may sound weird cause we're adults and not in high school but is it okay if I call you my girlfriend? I just don't want to move too fast if you're not there yet."

"Thank you. I think that's completely fine by me, as long as I get to call you my super-hot boyfriend." She said as she laid her head on his shoulder. She didn't miss the giant smile that spread across his face.

"You think I'm super- hot?"

"Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

"Well yeah, but I wouldn't say I'm super- hot."

She looked up at him. "Well I think you are super-hot."

"And I think you're super bangin" he retorted. She scoffed. "What? You don't think you're super bangin?"

"Oh no, I know I am. It's just no one has said that to me before, well except maybe Maggie." That caused them both to laugh, and then Sam yawned really hard.

"Someone's tired."

"Eh," he said shrugging it off "maybe a little." They were both quiet for a minute. Sam really didn't want to go home, but he was getting kind of tired. Mercedes didn't want him to leave but she didn't know how to tell him that without making it sound like she wanted to sleep with him or something. She was nowhere near ready for that.

He yawned again and stretched. Mercedes decided to just ask him. She _had_ just promised him to stop overthinking things. She sat up from leaning against him and he looked over at her with a questioning look.

"Do you maybe wanna stay tonight? Not like _stay _but just stay? I mean-"

He laughed "I know what you mean. Sure!" he said as he stood up "I'm just gonna go grab some PJs." He walked over to the door and opened it to leave but stopped and turned around. "You're really cute when you're flustered." And then he was gone. He was back about fifteen minutes later dressed in red plaid PJ pants and a white tee shirt. He was carrying a pillow, his toothbrush, and some popcorn. When she looked at him with her eyebrow raised he just said "What? We're having a sleepover so I figured I should bring sleepover stuff."

While she waited for him she had decided to change into some sweat pants and a tee shirt, take her make up off, and put her hair up. Normally she would most definitely not just invite her new boyfriend to sleep over, but Sam was different. She felt very comfortable around him, especially about herself. She didn't care if he was around while she was scrubbin it or was all dolled up. Partly because she knew he didn't care and partly because she didn't feel like she had to impress him. Mercedes was very confident in herself but there were times when she was insecure, everyone has days like that. Sam never made her feel that way though. She didn't worry about that stuff when he was around.

He kissed her as he walked in. "I really like doing that." He said, putting his stuff down on the couch.

"I really like when you do that." She replied with a smile. "How about I make the popcorn and you can pick a movie?" she said as she took the popcorn and nodded over to a shelf full of movies.

"Sounds good!" He was really glad she asked him to stay over. He never would have invited himself to stay but he really hadn't wanted to leave. He scanned her DVDs and decided on 'Just Wright'. As far as sports/rom coms movies it was pretty high on his list. "This good?" he asked as he walked over to the kitchen.

"Yeah! I love that one." she said taking the popcorn out of the microwave and pouring it into a bowl. "Wanna start it up on my laptop? It's on my bed."

"Mk!" He went over to the only other room in the apartment he hadn't seen, assuming that was her bed room. He was right. He sat down on her bed and set up the movie. As it was loading he looked around a little bit. The walls were white but it was far from plain. It had some neutral tones with pops of color. She had floor length gold curtains that offset her pale yellow bedspread nicely. She had a pink bookshelf with lots of different books and a wall of pictures behind it. There was also a very colorful vase of flowers on the brown dresser on the opposite side of the room. There was a white desk next to the dresser with a few pictures above it but not as many as the first one he saw. Sam got up and went over to the wall of pictures. There were lots of pictures of Mercedes and her friends when she was younger, some of her family, some of just her, and some of her and her family. There was a picture frame on the bookshelf. She was in the picture with a guy.

"That's me and my cousin, Mike." She said, leaning against the door frame with the popcorn and two bottles of water.

"He must be pretty special if he gets his own frame." Sam joked. He looked at the picture once more and then put it back where he got it.

She nodded as she walked into the room. "We were really close when we were kids."

"Not anymore?" he asked

"No. We haven't talked in a while." She replied as she set one of the bottles of water on the nightstand next to the bed and then sat down on her bed.

"Just lost touch?" he went and sat down next to her, taking the other bottle of water she was handing him.

"Kind of. He didn't like my ex, Brendan. He knew he was trouble but I was too stubborn to listen to him."

"You? Stubborn? I don't believe you."

She shoved him playfully. "Shut up, Evans!" She smirked "I've always felt bad about how we fell out but I haven't been able to call him."

"Stuff like that is hard. Maybe someday you guys will be able to patch things up."

She nodded. "Maybe."

"Movie?" he said pointing to the computer.

She smiled and leaned over to grab her laptop, resting it on her lap. Sam leaned back and stretched his arm across the bed. When she leaned back he pulled her closer to him. She snuggled in closer and started the movie. Sam had the bowl of popcorn on his lap and a hand full of popcorn. After a few minutes she noticed that he wasn't eating it. She looked up at him and saw that he was already looking at her with a bit of a mischievous smile.

"Sam if you start a popcorn fight and mess up my bed I swear…."

"Why would you think I'd do something like that?" he asked innocently and kissed her before she could answer.

"Mhhmm." She said as she turned her attention back to the movie. About ten minutes later she heard soft snoring coming from Sam. She watched the movie for just a little bit longer and then shut it off and put her computer on her desk.

She lay down and watched Sam for a few minutes. He was seriously one of the most attractive guys she had ever met. He was also one of the biggest goofballs she had ever met, but he was her goofball. She smiled at that thought. As hesitant as she was about relationships, being with Sam made her feel safe and happy. She had a gut feeling that he was one of the good ones. She kissed him on the cheek and turned over. A second later she felt his arm come around her waist and he snuggled closer to her. Maybe relationships weren't so bad after all.


	12. Breakfast and Cleaning

**Hey I'm still alive! haha Sorry for the wait! I'm going to try to keep updating once a week but that may not happen, things are a bit crazy now that work has started back up again. We shall see. Thank you for being so awesome and sticking with me and reviewing and reading! You guys are awesome! :)**

I don't own glee or it's characters or they would already be together ha 

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The next morning Sam woke up earlier than usual. Mercedes was fast asleep next to him, holding his hand. Before getting up he took some time to just watch her. He wasn't lying when he said she was super bangin' cause she totally was. She was also beautiful, and gorgeous, and adorable, and so many other things but he didn't wanna be weird and scare her off. So he just settled for super bangin. He thought about the events of last night and smiled. He had planned on just telling her how he felt at some point, but she beat him to it. He noticed that she tended to ramble when she had a few drinks and he was happy she did; or maybe she never would have actually told him how she felt. The whole thing was a lot easier than he thought. After he had kissed her at the club and she said they needed to talk he got nervous, really nervous. He knew he had horrible timing. However when she started rambling he got a lot less nervous. Mostly because she had revealed she felt the same way about him. He knew then that his gut had been right and they were supposed to know each other. His grumbling stomach pulled him out of his thoughts and he decided to take a walk down to his favorite breakfast place and grab them both breakfast. He would wake her up when he got back; she looked too peaceful to bother at the moment. He kissed her on the cheek and got up to change.

Mercedes woke up and noticed something was different, Sam wasn't there. She sat up and looked around. His pillow was still there but that was it. She decided to check her phone to see if he texted her; maybe he had to go to work or something. There was no text from Sam but a bunch from Maggie from the night before.

_Oh you and your hunk are leaving? Let me pretend to be surprised ;)_

_and yes I will tell everyone you said bye._

_but no one will be surprised with the way y'all were grinding all up on each other._

_And then you disappeared. Where did you guys go anyway?_

_I told Ashley you guys were going back to yours to practice making babies and she said that if you actually get pregnant tonight she'll slap you._

_Dan agrees. He won't slap you but he'll punch Sam._

_There is a general consensus here that you guys can practice making babies but you shouldn't have any….. YET._

_But everyone does agree that you two would have really cute babies._

_Also, unrelated but what the actual hell is going on with Dan and Ash? Things got a lot weirder after you left._

_I'll fill you in when you're done lovin' up on your man candy._

Mercedes just stared at her screen with her mouth open. There were so many things wrong with those messages. Like did they all actually talk about how Sam and Mercedes babies would look? She honestly wouldn't put it past Maggie to bring up something like that.

_Maggie, honey I love you and you know that but you have GOT to take like 500 chill pills. Okay? Sam and I just talked about things, which I will fill you in on later after you tell me what happened with Ashley and Dan._

Just as she hit send she heard her front door open. She was about to get up but Sam appeared in the door way with a brown paper bag.

"Oh, hey!" he said cheerfully as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey! Where did you run off to?" she asked, starting to get up.

"Wait," he almost yelled "stay there. I went to get us breakfast." He took off his shoes and hopped back into bed next to her. She settled back with a smile on her face. No one had ever brought her breakfast in bed before, he was very thoughtful. He pulled out two styrofoam containers and handed her one. She opened it and inside was some eggs, home fries, and a few pieces of bacon. She looked over at his and it seemed like it was predominantly bacon.

"Sam is there anything besides bacon in there?" she asked him

"Yes." He said as if that was a ridiculous question. "There are some eggs in there too. And a piece of toast." He finished as he held up the toast.

She just scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't ask me to take you to the hospital when your body gives out on you."

"As my girlfriend I think it's your job." He said as he chowed down on his toast, which he had topped with bacon.

She just smiled and kissed him on the cheek. He just looked at her and smiled as best he could with his mouth full of food. After the two finished their breakfast Mercedes insisted she took care of the trash because he had gone out and gotten the food. "It's only fair." She said. They spent the rest of the day together just hanging out until Sam had to go to work at five.

Mercedes checked her phone and saw another batch of messages from Maggie. She decided to just ignore them and call her.

"Helllooo Mercedesss!" Maggie chirped.

"Someone sounds happy."

"That's because someone _is_ happy."

Mercedes could tell that she was smiling which made her smile. She loved when her friends were happy. "And is that for any particular reason? Or just having a good day?"

"It's a little of both." She told her friend. "Steve and I talked last night, and things are good. I'm just happy."

"I'm glad! You told him how you were feeling about things?"

"Yeah. We were both a little drunk so after we left the club I invited him over and then I started crying and then I just told him what was up and he told me that he wasn't trying to be weird, he was just nervous. It was kind of sweet actually."

"Nervous about what?"  
_  
_"About our relationship I guess? He told me that he really likes me and he just doesn't want to screw things up."

"Aw, that is sweet." Mercedes said

"I know. Now fill me in on you and your hottie.""I will but first tell me what happened with Dan and Ash. Pllleeasseeee and thank you."

"Oh my gosh I almost forgot!" Maggie practically yelled. "I can't believe you weren't there. Ok so after you left they kept dancing which is whatever. But they were like _dancing_ dancing."

"So?" Mercedes asked. "They always dance with each other."

"Yeah but not with Ashley's ass all up on Dan's hidden man candy."

"Ugh, Maggie."

"What?! That's what happened. I'm just recounting the juicy details because _someone_ ran off with her tall drink of water to do who knows what who knows where."

Mercedes just rolled her eyes because there was really nothing she could say to that. Maggie had her own way of wording things and it was great but sometimes there was nothing you could say. "Is that all that happened?"

"Kind of? I mean nothing big happened but it was just little things. They were all over each other."

"Well Sam told me that when they guys were talking Dan said something about them acting like a couple so why not just be one. He has a thing for her. I can tell."

"Seriously?! Any one there last night could tell. It's like they were glued to each other. If it wasn't Dan and Ash it would have be nauseating. I don't think Ashley knows though. We might need to tell her."

"You know I don't meddle, Mags."

"We're not going to meddle. We're going to make sure that Ashley doesn't break that poor man's heart. He's got it BAD."

Mercedes sighed. Maggie was right. They'd need to have a talk with their friend.

"Alright. We'll have to have a girl's day sometime soon; then we can talk to her."

"Sounds like a plan. Now dish on your night!"

Mercedes told Maggie everything that happened after her and Sam left the club. She told her about the crazy word vomit that happened and how sweet Sam had been about everything. Maggie ohhh and awed at everything.

"Cedes I am so so soooo happy for you right now it's not even funny!" She said smiling like an idiot, Mercedes could just tell.

"Thanks babe. So I guess we both have things pretty figured out now." She said chuckling.

"It was a pretty successful night if I do say so myself."

_**One month later… **_

"Sam, why did you wait this long to clean? It's like a hazard zone in here." Mercedes said as she walked into his apartment and looked around. She had been there once or twice but for the most part they hung out at her place. When Sam had mentioned that his family was coming up for a visit she offered to help him clean things up. She kept telling him they should do it sooner rather than later but he kept putting it off.

"Well for one I'm barely here anymore, my girlfriend lives across the street and I spend a lot of time over there." He said as he kissed the top of her head and walked farther into the apartment "Also I'm really good at procrastinating and I hate cleaning."

"Okay, I get that but we could have come over here and gotten things clean instead of sitting at my place watching movies. Your family is gonna be here tomorrow afternoon. I don't know how we're gonna get this place looking livable before then."

"Will you stop worrying?" He replied, wrapping his arms around her waist "I've got plenty of coffee to keep us up and if it's not clean when they get here then that's fine." He gave her a quick kiss "I'll just have you show them around the city while I finish." He said grinning, knowing full well that that was something that was not gonna happen. Mercedes was extremely nervous to meet his family and he would never throw her to the wolves like that, at least not yet.

Her more relaxed expression quickly turned to exasperation. "Sam!" she smacked his chest "Not. Funny."

"Babe, relax. They're gonna love you, you'll love them. Everything will be great."

"I hope so."

"I know so." He said kissing her forehead before he let her go and walked over to his stereo and putting some music on. "Now let's get this party started."

She just laughed and rolled her eyes. They started cleaning at six, it was now eight thirty and things were looking pretty good. Sam had worked on getting all of his junk put away and Mercedes focused on cleaning. There were a lot of weird food stains and smells, also dust. Lots of dust. If he hadn't been spending so much time at her place she would be seriously concerned for his well- being. Sam ordered some pizza and it came about twenty minutes later, so they took a little break to eat. Mercedes sat on one side of the couch, Sam sat on the other, and the pizza box was in the middle.

"Thanks for helping me tonight. There's no way I would have been able to tackle this alone." Sam said before taking a bite of his pizza.

"No problem. I'm glad I could help, but next time maybe we should clean a few days _before_ you're expecting company? Instead of the night before."

"Noted." He said nodding with a full mouth.

After they finished their pizza they both just sat on the couch for a minute. "I guess we should get back to cleaning." She said stretching a little bit.

"I guess." He said with a gloomy look on his face. Then he looked at her and smiled a mysterious smile. "What?" she asked

He didn't say anything. He just moved the empty pizza box to the floor and moved closer to where she was sitting. The look on his face let her know what was going on.

"Sam…" she tried to say as stern as possible, almost like a warning, but it came out more as a weak question.

"Cedes…" he said back with a knowing tone and a mischievous smirk on that gorgeous face of his.

"I really-"she started to say but was cut off when Sam crashed his lips onto hers. She knew they should be cleaning but her mind pretty much turned to mush when he kissed her like he was. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He was more or less on top of her with no intention of stopping his kiss attack anytime soon. Until they had to come up for air that is.

"What were you saying?" he asked almost smugly as they caught their breaths.

At first she raised her eyebrows questioningly. She didn't even remember she _was_ saying something. "Oh! I was saying you suck." She smirked back.

"Nu uh." He said as said as he kissed her again.

"Sammy." She tried to protest as he started kissing her cheeks and then her neck. She currently had no good reason to stop him, cleaning was the last thing she was thinking about. That is until he started paying special attention to a spot on her neck and she realized if she didn't say something he would leave a mark and she didn't want to meet his family with a bunch of hickeys.

"Sam Evans if you give me a hickey, so help me-"

He stopped what he was doing and sat up a little to look at her.

"What?" he asked innocently, like he had no idea what he was doing.

"Your family is coming tomorrow. I'm not about to meet them with a bunch on marks on my neck, it's too hot to wear a scarf. Come on, we gotta finish cleaning." She said as she pushed him off her and stood up. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.

"You're no fun." He said kissing her again.

"And you're a horn dog." She said kissing him back. "Now, up." She stood and pulled him up with her. He just groaned like a disgruntled teen causing her to laugh.


	13. Meeting the Evans

**Hi! As usual I'm sorry this took so long, things have been crazy! I'm gonna try my best to get the next one up sooner but the next few days are gonna be crazy so I'm not sure when that will be. Thanks for sticking with me and reading, reviewing, and being awesome! :) **

**I own nothing. **

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Sam was going to the airport to pick up the entire Evans family in half an hour. Mercedes was running on little sleep and was just short of a meltdown. The two of them had stayed up until about twelve thirty cleaning. It would have taken a lot less time if Sam had stopped sneaking up and trying to get her to make out with him. However he, being Sam, was very persistent. In actuality it was probably an hour and a half of cleaning and an hour and a half of Sam trying to fool around. Mercedes was pretty good at standing her ground, most of the time. Sometimes he fought dirty and who could compete with that? She ended up staying the night and went over to her place to get ready the next morning. Sam had talked to his mom and she told him they wanted a tour as soon as they got there. She knew if she let her husband settle in at the hotel he would never leave. Sam went over to check on Mercedes just before he left for the airport.

"Cedes?" he said as he went into her apartment

"In here!" she called from her bedroom. He went in and saw her standing at the foot of her bed staring intently at two outfits that were laid out in front of her. One was a coral dress and the other was a long navy tank top and some leggings. "Which one?" she asked as he entered her room.

"Which do you like best?" he asked her back.

"I don't know. I like both. That's why I'm asking you."

"Well which is more comfortable?" he honestly thought she would look great in either outfit and didn't know what to tell her. "We're gonna be walking a lot."

"That's true." She said looking at the outfits again. "I think I'll go with this one cause if I wear the dress I'll have to find my spanx and I have no idea where they are."

"Spanx?" he asked looking confused.

"Yeah they're like shorts that suck everything in." she told him as she took a dramatic deep breath and smiled.

"Oh, well I don't think you need anything sucked in." he replied with a serious look on his face.

"Thanks, babe. I think I'm just gonna go with the leggings. Are you sure that outfits okay?" she was looking up at him with a sort of worried expression.

"Mercedes," he said putting his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him, and bending a bit so that they were eye to eye. "You'll look beautiful in anything that you put on. You always do. My family is not going to care about what you're wearing. Okay?"

She just nodded and she seemed to relax a little bit.  
"Okay." He said as he pulled her into a hug. After a second she leaned back to look at him.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on your way to the airport?"

"Yeah, but I know how nervous you are so I just wanted to come check on your first."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "Thank you, one last question. Are you sure that you want me to come with you guys around NYC? If you just wanna do family stuff that's cool."

"Of course I want you to come. I want you to meet everyone! And if you don't come I'll get hounded all day with questions of where my gorgeous girlfriend is. Before I told her you were coming with us my mom asked me to invite you."

"Really?" she asked looking excited.

"Yeah, really."

"Okay." She leaned up and kissed him again. Just before he turned to leave he smacked her lightly on the butt. "Hey!" she said a little startled.

"That's the only spanks you need." He said with a wink as he left. He heard her yell "You're such a dork!" as he closed the door.

It hadn't fully hit him that his entire family was coming to see him until he was almost at the airport. He got there a little early so he went inside and waited at arrivals. The first person he saw was Molly, she was practically charging at him.

"SAMMYY!" she yelled as he picked her up in a hug.

"Hey Molly!"

As soon as he put her down his mother rushed over and squeezed him tight. He almost forgot how much he loved her hugs. Almost.

"Where is this girl we keep hearing so much about?" his mom asked as she reluctantly let him go so his dad could hug him.

"She's gonna meet us in a bit. I didn't want to scare her off with all of _this_." He said motioning to the mass of family crowded around him.

"Pft, whatever little bro." His older sister, Lucy, said as she shoved him playfully and then hugged him.

"She's definitely coming right, because we all want to meet her." Nora chimed in again.

"Yes, ma." He said sounding like a little kid.

"Calm down, Sam. We're just all excited to meet her." Tom said hugging

"Nice to see you too, Tommy." Sam replied sarcastically.

"No fighting, kids." Fiona said as she took her turn to greet her brother- in- law. Sam hugged her and grabbed Frank, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"I've missed you buddy!" Sam said to the little boy who just made a raspberry noise at him. After everyone got their bags they decided to head over to the hotel. Sam's parents, his brother and his wife, and Frankie were all staying in a hotel. His sisters decided it would be more fun to have a big old sleepover at his place. The rest of his family took a cab over to the hotel while he took his sisters to his apartment to put their stuff there.

"Oh Sammy, I thought this place would look like a war zone but you kept things pretty clean. Good job bro." Lucy said inspecting the place.

"You have no idea." He said under his breath.

"I think I'm gonna have to come visit more often." Molly said plopping herself down on the couch.

"Why don't we just see how these few days go first?" He told her pulling her up off the couch. "Don't get comfy, we have to go meet everyone at the hotel."

"When are we getting Mercedes?" she asked.

"Like now." He said pulling his phone out of his pocket and sent a text. The girls just put all of their stuff in the den and they all left. When they got outside Sam told them to wait there while he ran across the street. Just as he reached the building directly across from his a woman came out and he grabbed her hand and they walked back over to where Lucy and Molly were waiting.

"Guys, this is Mercedes. Mercedes this is my older sister Lucy and my younger sister Molly."

"Hi." Mercedes said as she extended her hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Molly said shaking her hand with a huge smile on her face.

"Sam talks about you all the time!" Lucy said nodding with the same smile.

"Does he?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow and looked up at Sam.

"What can I say?" he asked back innocently wrapping and arm around her shoulders "I like talking about certain things and you're one of them." He kissed her on the head and smiled while his sisters awed.

She just shook her head but she couldn't stop the smile that had started. "Well I've heard a bunch about you guys too."

The four of them walked to the closest subway stop and headed over to the hotel. Sam could tell that Mercedes was still a bit nervous but his sisters were clearly distracting her. They were currently complimenting her on her outfit and talking about makeup. He heard something along the lines of "We'll have to go to Sephora!" knowing that would take forever he made a mental note to leave that outing to the girls.

Mercedes felt a lot better after Sam had left. It was very sweet of him to check on her like that, but she was still a bit nervous. Her main concern was that his family wouldn't like her. She knew she was a nice person and got on with most people but this was different. What if they hated her? What if they thought he could do better? What scared her most was her feelings for him. Normally she wouldn't sweat meeting the parents. She had met parents in the past and not even bat an eye, but this was different. This was Sam. For some reason this felt hugely important. She felt like if she screwed this up then that was it, and that scared her. She kept reminding herself that Sam was the awesome guy he was because he was raised right and his family must be nice. She decided to stop thinking it to death and try to distract herself with a book until Sam texted her. About an hour and a half later he sent her a text asking her to meet him downstairs. When she got outside she saw Sam already coming across the street. Standing in front of his building were two women that looked just like him, from far away at least. When she got closer her initial thought was confirmed. They both had the same dirty blond hair and sparkling green eyes. His older sister was almost as tall as he was and his younger sister was tall but not quite as tall as the other two. They were both very friendly and made her feel better immediately, whether they knew it or not. They were very easy to talk to; it was like they had all known each other for forever.

It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the hotel to meet everyone else. Sam noticed that Mercedes had relaxed quite a bit, but she still had a firm grasp on his hand. He thought it was sweet that she was so nervous. It showed him that she cared. He would have been nervous as well but Mercedes was a wonderful person and he knew that his family would see all of the great things he did. Sam called his mom as they got there. She said that they'd all be down in a few minutes so to just sit tight in the lobby until then. They didn't have to wait long, about five minutes later the rest of the Evans family was down in the lobby as well. Mercedes jaw almost hit the floor; she had never seen a family that looked so much alike. The first man she saw looked like Sam but his hair was a bit darker and he was carrying a baby. The woman next to him didn't look much like anyone else so she knew that was Sam's sister- in- law. Then she saw his parents and her heart started to race just a little. Sam, and all his siblings, was the perfect mix of both their parents. He had his father's prominent jaw line and green eyes and his mother's lips and dirty blond hair.

Mercedes looked up at Sam and he just smiled at her and then at his family.

"Everyone, this is Mercedes." He said beaming as the rest of his family stood in front of him. Mrs. Evans practically ran over and enveloped her in a big hug.

"It is so so so nice to meet you, Mercedes!" She said as released her grasp a bit and leaned back to look at her. "I'm Nora."

"Hi! You too." She replied nodding, not really knowing what else to say. She hadn't expected that, not that she expected something bad. She just hadn't expected to be so welcome; she got on with all of her ex's parents but not like that.

"Nora, give her some space." Pete said laying his hand on his wife's shoulder and extending the other one to Mercedes. "I'm Pete, the dad." He said smiling. "But I'm sure you already figured that out."

"Hi." She smiled back, shaking his hand.

"I'm Tom." He said shaking her hand as well "This is my wife Fiona, and this is Frankie." He gestured towards his wife and child.

"It's nice to meet you all!" she said feeling simultaneously relived and a little overwhelmed. Sam laced his hand with hers and gave it a small squeeze before anyone could pull her away.

"Alright, who's ready to see New York?" he said gesturing towards the doors.


End file.
